(katherine with a "flower" she picked for her "mosses")
mr. moss moved his beloved into the rest home a couple of days before we were supposed to leave for spring break. her case worker said that it was best that mrs. moss not have any visitors until "the home" could get her settled into her room and into her "new routine".
(though the rule made sense in theory, the irony was that every, single day for months mrs. moss had had to settle into a "new routine"... such was life for her once the alzheimer's had advanced.)
we left for florida the saturday after good friday and were gone a week. looking back, it was probably a really good thing that we were out of town that week. katherine kept me busy with first Easter and then playing in the ocean, sand, and pool. still, i wondered was mrs. moss was scared??? was mr. moss missing the woman he'd spent nearly every night with for almost 60 years (after courting her for 10 years)...
while we were gone, i called daily to check in with mr. moss . it was so odd not to hear him ask, "dani, would you like to talk to this pretty lady sitting here beside me?" like he had done so often.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
we returned the following saturday evening. i called to let mr. moss know that we had arrived home safely and asked if katherine and i could go visit mrs. moss after church on sunday. he, being the southern gentleman he was, replied, "well, bless your heart, dani, that'd be mighty nice".
(i can still hear him uttering those very words... (WHAT.A.GIFT:).)
after church, katherine and i hurried to the van, i fastened her into her car seat, and we made a mad dash to the rest home. i couldn't wait to visit mrs. moss. i wanted to see for myself that she was alright...
i wanted her to know we hadn't forgotten her!!!
when we entered the lobby, i asked for directions to mrs. moss' room. the receptionist informed me that she was not in her room but in the dining room eating lunch. she then gave me directions to the dining room: she gave me mrs. moss' room number and directions to it as well.
after, katherine and i walked in the direction of the dining room finally entering the very crowded dining room from the rear. i looked all around the room only to find that mrs. moss was sitting almost directly in front of us...
in the very back of the room...
at a table...
all...
by...
herself.
my heart sank.
tearfully, i walked up behind my dearest friend and whispered a, "hey, mrs. moss", into her ear. she turned and smiled like i'd never before seen her smile... crinkling her sweet little nose:) she was THRILLED to see us!!! i gave her a hug, and katherine gave her one, too, but not before giving her a violet she picked from our front yard for her...
mrs. moss began to talk to katherine and me, but what came out of her mouth was mostly gibberish. i pretended to know exactly what she was saying, and katherine followed suit.
then i noticed that mrs. moss hadn't touched the food on her plate, hence, i proceeded to feed her her. she ate most of her mashed potatoes and ALL her jell-o (mrs. moss LOVED jell-o)...
as for her chicken, she could only stomach a bite or two.
~~~~~~~~~~~
mr. moss quickly made several realizations about the rest home:
*mrs. moss could no longer feed herself: that didn't necessarily mean that she would be provided with someone to feed her.
*mrs. moss had access to the rest home's beauty shop and a standing appointment; that didn't necessarily mean that the beautician would keep a watch over her as she slept under the hair dryer while receiving a second-degree scalp burn the size of a saucer.
*mrs. moss was helped into a clean depends undergarment along with her clothes each morning; that didn't necessarily mean that her undergarment would be changed again before bed time... AT NIGHT.
upon making these realizations, however, a very angry mr. moss sent his sitter/driver to the rest home several times each day to feed mrs. moss her breakfast and lunch and to see to it that she was kept clean and comfortable. further, once her burn healed, mr. moss also hired a beautician to go to the rest home once a week to style her hair and give her a manicure and pedicure...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(to be continued...)
love and God's blessings,
dani xx
ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)
(may 1986)
we were all dressed to usher in and seat the graduating seniors that evening.
katherine and i are going to go prom dress shopping on saturday.
as dresses have, indeed, evolved...
i don't think we will see any of these vintage designs; do you???!!?!
love and GOd's blessings,
dani xx
several of you left questions about maggie and her breed on my last post. so, i thought i'd try to answer those questions and share a bit more about her...
suz commented that they should make doggie boots for wet, muddy days. well, suz, they do!!! they actually make rain boots, cowboy boots, tennis shoes, mary janes, saddle-oxfords, etc... i had thought about getting her a set because they are precious but decided that she probably wouldn't want to wear them (and they are relatively expensive... (like about the same price as a nice pair of human shoes, ha!!!)).
(even ruby slippers, suz)
now, if katherine were still this age, i might not be able to resist:)
(how adorable would they be???)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(post shower)
bren was surprised that i gave maggie a bath after our walk. mag gets a bath about once every 2 weeks (and a puppy-cut once a month) and has since she was 6 weeks old. thus, i don't normally bathe her after going for a walk:) however, when we returned from that particular walk, she was wet, filthy, and smelled. so, as soon as we walked into the house, she received not one but two baths... as she sleeps (every night) on her HALF of the bed... between john and me:/
you may recall this story.
(her half in the middle;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(stoicism???)
heidi asked what kind of spaniel maggie is. heidi, maggie is a cavalier king charles spaniel (aka "ROYAL LAPDOG"). cavaliers come in four accepted varieties: blenheim (white and red), ruby (solid red), tri (white, tan and black), and black and tan (maggie).
further, the ckcs's are very intelligent (like ocd intelligent), playful, and most of all DEVOTED!!! they aren't dogs that can be left alone for very long periods of time because for over 400 years they have been bred to be lap dogs and companions. for this reason, cavs require the same amount of attention that a small child does. although highly intelligent, they are not street-wise at all!!! most breeders will not even sell one of their pups unless the buyer has a fenced in yard.
(with maggie, a fence/leash is a MUST!!!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(molly's hollie... i hope you don't mind that i used this photo, molly:)
molly, a fellow cavalier owner, wondered (after making a comment about maggie's nose being to the ground while she was walking me in the clip i uploaded) if cavs are used for anything (e.g. police dogs, etc...).
i'm not really sure, molly. cavs do have a keen sense of smell; but, lol, the officer would have to peal his pooch off his lap to get her to go to work, no???
(on the hunt)
i don't know if you know this or not. king charles I (obviously) loved this breed; he had a pack that were always with him whether in the castle or on a hunt (during his reign the cav was the only dog allowed to go on hunts because of its "toy" size.)
(i'll bet you the cav never moved, tee-hee!)
additionally, king charles I had many women (besides his wife, i know, imagine that???). each of his women including his wife was provided with a cav. the cavs provided these women (respectively) with endearing companionship, warmth, and (most importantly) the cavs kept the fleas off the king's women, which was VERY important at that time due to the spread of the BUBONIC PLAGUE by fleas!!!
(king charles I's children with cavs... charles II on left)
and too, king charles I's children had several of the small spaniels for play.
(king charles II... he actually resembles the breed, imo;)
lastly, king charles I's son (king charles II) was so fond of the breed that he declared that the cavs would be allowed in all public places:)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(mosses and katherine)
i'd like to share one last thing about maggie. maggie was/is indirectly given to me by my mosses, which makes her all the more special and beloved. i adore keeping this little part of him close: so, she is almost always by my side:) according to john, when i am away from the house, she mourns (for lack of a better word) my absence... with real tears!!! it is so bad (on her part) that when john and i went out to dinner a couple of weeks ago, she was so excited when i returned that she hyperventilated.
john??? he just shook his head:b
(that night after all the excitement)
we are just a wee bit co-dependent, i would say:D
love and God's blessings,
dani xx
we have had two days of sun and highs around 60°f (16°c)
on the lane...
very nice, huh:)
so, maggie and i went for a long walk...
the only downsides of the walk were that we had to watch out for limbs and BIG BRANCHES which were broken and hanging...
seemingly just waiting to give way to gravity
(we were careful though!!!)...
and the muddy, nasty terrain.
when i watched this little snippet upon returning home, i laughed to myself remembering one of john's favorite sayings...
"if you are NOT the first dog, the view is always the same!!!"
:/
meester john is a funny one; he is:b
upon returning home, maggie and i both had to have showers.
then, when the magster was finally all dry, i allowed her to crawl up into my bed.
she buried herself under the covers and attempted to take a nap.
then, much to her dismay...
i came bearing my camera, ha!!!
i hope your weekend has been a SUNNY one:D
love and God's blessings,
dani xx
my friend, cheri, did this on her blog and offered to interview others. it sounded fun; so, i thought, "what the heck..."!!! anyway, the rules are posted at the bottom, let me know if you want to participate. it's fun:)
1. What would be your perfect weekend?
my perfect weekend would be a long one!!! john and i would be packed and ready to head to st. louis on wednesday after work. we would leave henderson spending the night in st. louis and leave on the 6:30 am non-stop flight to cancun, mx. upon landing we would taxi 45 miles south to puerto aventura, be welcomed to the palace with native flowers and two flutes of ice-cold champagne.
then, we would spend the next 4 days basking in the sun, sipping beach drinks, eating three amazing meals a day, and being entertained and pampered by the natives...
finally, upon arriving home, we would be renewed, rested, and ready to be at home with a daughter and a puppy-dogger who would both be elated to have us home:)
2. If you could go back in time is there anything that you would change about your past?
i would love to go back into my past and relive events savoring every moment... MORE!!! but, knowing what i do now, i know that if i were to change even one small thing i might not end up where i am. and, i would NEVER want to change where i am. it took the life i lived (i believe EVERY single aspect of it) for me to find my way to God. finding HIM was/is the most important thing i ever did/will do.
so, i will say i wouldn't change a thing!!!
3. What are the best and worst things about your town?
the best and worst part of living in my town is basically the same thing... it is small. the best part about it being small is that everyone knows most everyone (or there is at least a connection). for the most part, EVERYone smiles, greets, opens doors, is eager to help in times of trouble, etc... on the flip side,however, EVERYone knows EVERYone else's business.
there is very little privacy in a small town!!!
4. If you won the lottery what would be the first five things you would do/buy?
i don't buy lottery tickets often. i bought one several years ago (this is kind of funny, now); after bringing it home, i grew scared that i would win and that winning would modify my lifestyle in an undesirable way.. ha, i was so thrilled when i didn't have any matching numbers i nearly did a happy dance!!!
now, theoretically, if i were to win the lottery, i'd like to give my family the money they need to pay off their debts while also helping others i know (in the same way), put some money in the bank (several banks so as to keep it secure), and give the rest to different charities (especially those dealing with children and spreading the WORD OF GOD).
i STILL do not want my life to change... as i really do like to keep my garden small:)
5. What is your favorite childhood memory?
oddly, i don't know if i really have a favorite childhood memory unless it was the day i was standing in the middle of my grandmommie's living room and my aunts, uncle, and cousin were all telling me to come to the one i loved the most. (i was only about 3 and was the only small child of 7 brothers and sisters; my cousin was 12 years older than i and the same age as my youngest aunt.) i twirled and twirled around in circles, hearing the voices, respectively, try to lure me, and falling to the floor dizzy, giggling, and feeling nothing but LOVE:)
i miss drinking sweet coffee milk and giggling with my grandmommie on late weekend nights...
and the feel of my mamaw soft finger tips rubbing my back and sleeping with her under her soft, april fresh sheets.
can you feel the love???
rules:
1. if you want to be interviewed, leave me a comment that says "interview me".
2. i will respond by emailing you 5 questions (chosen by me).
3. update your blog with the questions, answers to the questions, and let me know when you have posted it.
4. include this explanation, and offer to do interviews in the same post.
5. then when others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
love and God's blessings,
dani xx
(a friend and esme playing in the rocks in africa)
you may have noticed the new button i have over on my side bar.
if you click on it, it should take you to my little friend esme's site,
which, btw, has been hi-jacked by her super-mom, j, so that j can provide her readers with insight into the lives of those living in zimbabwe (j&co.'s next missionary stop).
from february 1-14, j has been/will be giving away daily, african-themed prizes (all you have to do is leave a comment on each of her give-away posts (yes, you can still leave comments on feb. 1-today... as ALL drawings will take place on valentine's day;))!!!
good luck, and may you find your niche in helping whether it be through prayer and/or through your gifts:)
love and God's blessings,
dani xx ps. today's give-away is a lovely plumaria candle.
those were the words i received via email this morning from the notorious d:P
(lucy and ethel on the lane;)
you see... yesterday morning maggie had to go out to potty. since most of the *snow* had melted over the weekend, i thought it would be ok to just slip on a pair of john's house shoes and a jacket instead of getting all geared up for the weather.
i fastened maggie's leash on her collar and opened the door; she ran out the door, down the steps, and into the yard ahead of me. the sun was shining brightly on what *snow* still lay on our front yard. i took note of how beautiful it was.
when she had used up all the slack in her leash, maggie stopped and turned around to look at me as if to say,
"you know it's the side yard or bust, mom!!!"
i laughed to myself at her and took a step off the front porch. i took the second step before realizing that the *snow* wasn't giving beneath my feet...
it was then that it happened.
i had absolutely NO CONTROL:/
i was standing on a solid sheet of ICE...
but not for long!!!
for, in slow motion my left foot started sliding to the east and my right to the south west... given that the leash handle was all i had to hold onto,
DOWN i went right on my bum:o
"the side yard or bust, mom!!!"
oh.the.irony.
the first thing i did was think, "is my arm broken???" because i was feeling pain... then, upon deciding that it wasn't, i looked around to see if anyone saw.
no one in sight.
it was at that point, that i started laughing at myself, ALOUD:P
what a dork!!! there i sat with only thin flannel pj bottoms separating my bum from a couple of inches of ice. maggie was STILL looking at me (at that point, in total disgust) waiting for me to take her to the side yard dammit, and i was just trying to figure out (through laughter) how i was going to get myself in a vertical position and back to the porch???
don't worry, i have no pride;
i crawled!!!
finally, when i made it back to the porch, i stood and walked very carefully around the perimeter of my house holding on to the siding for dear life... i made it to the side yard where maggie prefers to relieve herself:)
and, btw (if anyone is wondering)???
she did!!!
today...
my hip isn't broken at all; thank you, d:)
but(t), my bum is still a little tender:b
love and GOd's blessings,
dani xx
and just like that, the lane went from being in a deep freeze to being in a nasty thaw...
i cannot even begin to really describe how crazy the lane's weather has been over the past year... from ice, to hot summer, to earthquakes (which i know are seismic but imo fall into the same category), to 80 mph straight-line winds, to a HURRICANE (the lane's nowhere near the coast), to ice again (this time, though, the "worst catastrophic event to hit the state, ever"!!!), and finally to today which was quite spring-like:/
CRAZY!!!
actually, i got so warm i turned on the ac in the commander today when driving home from walgreens... it wasn't what i would call, "warm" outside. however, the sun was brightly shining, and inside the jeep was pretty toasty... quite unlike yesterday morning's temperatures that nearly got down into the single digits fahrenheit!!! what a difference a day makes, huh!!??!?!!!
here are a couple of clips...
before the meltdown:
during the meltdown:
and, finally, a little puppy love:)
maggie at church:
yes, i'm using my puppy voice again, ha!)
love and GOd's blessings,
dani xx
