And then there were four ...

     It seems like ages ago since I've written about my precious loves, my faithful companions, my soulful giants -- and it has been!  Life has moved forward without the penning of words to the page; days, weeks, months, and years pass and one day we awaken to find that while we've lived fully, we've also lost much.
     Our family has lost two of our soulful giants in the past three years.  My precious Prudance passed away Christmas Eve 2012 at 9 years of age.  I was letting her outside for 'last call,' and she looked up at me, smiled and waggled her whole body as she always did, and then suddenly gave out a cry and fell over.  Just like that she was gone. My precious Pru, happy and smiling and wagging one moment and gone the next. Oh how life is fleeting. Himself and I were with her, loving her as she crossed the bridge and that brings us such comfort and we hope that it helped her cross knowing how much she was loved. I think of her daily.
     Most recently, our big girl, Brindelynn Katrina, passed away just last week.  We had noticed she had slowed down on her eating and was having more difficulty getting up and down to go outside, but she was still so full of life, of happiness, of pure orneriness that we didn't see just how close she was to leaving us.  Last Wednesday we couldn't get her to get up at all and we knew she hadn't eaten for several days unless we hand fed her fresh meats, so we called our vet and made the appointment for that Saturday.  Brin had her own timetable - no surprise to those who knew and loved her. Brin began breathing heavily late that evening and by 4AM on Thursday, her breathing shifted again and I knew... .  I look a blanket and l stayed with her, singing to her, petting her neck (her favorite spot), and just shared love with her.  At one point she awoke enough to raise her head slightly, look at me, and then she took her paw and drew my arm to her.  It was her last conscious moments.  By 6AM she passed across the bridge. She was as gracious and loving in the end as she had lived her 10 years, 9 months. Our sweet biggie ...
      We have been so very blessed to have been with our two precious loves at the moment of their passing.  Yes, it is a very sad and difficult thing to do, but for us it is part of loving them and it is part of our loyalty to them to be with them as we would any family member.
       Today, Pru and Brin are together again, side by side as they always were in life.  And that brings me such comfort and joy. Their spirits run freely and that makes my heart happy.

A rainy evening equals a dremel evening

Ahhh yes, a rainy, chilly Indiana evening. All the chores are done - the crew has been fed, the chickens watered, fed and eggs collected, and our dinner is finished as well. Ahhhh... time to relax in our warm and cozy great room. I have a good book I want to re-read, scan through my facebook, write in my blog ... yes, a relaxing rainy evening at home with the crew.

Well, that's what I was hoping for anyway. But then all the dogs gathered around my chair as I sat writing this blog. Each of them greeted me, giving me the customary mastiff paw. And that's when the evening changed from quiet and relaxing to Dremel time!

So why does this ruin my quiet evening? Besides the noise and dust generated from the dremeling, just think about the sheer number of nails to do. So let's figure this out -- 6 dogs with 4 paws equals 24 paws. 12 paws with 5 nails on equals 60 nails. 12 paws with 4 nails equals 48. So 108 nails to dremel tonight!

And remember, these are English mastiffs who don't all enjoy getting a pedicure, so the evening will also involve a bit of wrestling and fast movement and persistence. And it takes both Himself and me to get the job done. Even so, there will be no need for Zumba or yoga tonight - I'll be moving and using muscles and stretching and doing my best 'flex' moves just to get the job done.

But hey, let's look on the bright side here. I'm at home sharing time with Himself and the beings I love most in the world in a warm and cozy room. I have a pretty good evening ahead of me -- so I'd better wrap it up and get that dremel fired up.