I'm in North Carolina with my mother-in-law and most of the family. She's in hospice with acute renal failure. It's exhausting, emotionally & physically, watching a loved one die. I don't know how parents of young children who are terminally I'll find the strength to go on every day. Mom has been on borrowed time for the last few years and has spend quit a bit of time in the hospital from falls and broken bones, her continual need for I.V. Meds, and weekly blood tests. Her pic line became infected a couple weeks ago so they took her to the Hanover hospital. She walked in, but they gave us back a comtose person. Another week at the rehab facility to regain her strength and after spending all her energy on her physical therapy she just didn't have any more energy for living. She refused to eat anything & since she was practically comatose, suggested she go back to the hospital. They took her to Cape Fear Hospital this time instead of Hanover. She's been there ever sense and there's just nothing more they can do but make her comfortable. Tomorrow, my daughter, grand-daughter & I ate going to try to fly back home if the airports are open in Indianapolis. Over night there has been an ice storm & snow storm in the mid-west so almost all flights have been cancelled. If we can't get out, at least we'll be here with family.

Being Alone

Friends and family ask how I can stand all the alone time while Frank is working in California.  For the most part I don't mind it.  I relish it and embrace it.  Maybe it's because after raising three kids who were about 16 months apart during a time when my husband worked the afternoon shift and I worked days, I never found much time for myself.  A lot of people are afraid to be alone and even more don't know how to be alone.   And then there are some like myself that require a great deal of alone time to regenerate.  I found this awesome poem on YouTube that pretty much explains how to be alone.

My Furry, Feathery, Kids

Just briefly, I wanted to put a couple pictures up of my pets.  I've never added a picture with a post and wanted to give it a try.   

This is Chewbacca Mud (his middle name stands for my ugly dog.)  He's 'special'.  A mixed up mess of a yorkshire terrier, a pug, a shih tzu, and a poodle.  I never have see any poodle in him.  He's so ugly he's cute and he's the sweetest little guy.  He was born with a congenital defect that affects the first and second vertebra of his spine called alanto axial subligation (wobbler.)  More on that later.  

This is Booboo Catface, Chewy's brother.  

This is Marley, the cockatiel.  He's fairly new to the family.  I think he's gorgeous and he whistles at me all the time!  

This is the newest member of the family.  His name is Shadow and I got him a couple days before Halloween from a friend who took in a stray female cat.  Low and behold, the stray was pregnant and Shadow is one of her kittens.  He was born in August of 2010.  Spay your pets please.  It's so sad to see so many kittens and puppies come into this world with no home to go to.  

A simple online search will usually find a low cost spay/neuter clinic in your area.

My Recycle Bin is Here!

It might seem silly to you but one of my New Year's Resolutions is to recycle more this year, so I was excited to see my brand new orange plastic recycling bin being dropped off at my house today!  I'm still going to take all my paper to the local grade school in the neighborhood because I know they can benefit from it.  A simple brown grocery bag just outside the kitchen in the my garage is perfect for paper.  I even tear off our address from envelopes and all mail and toss those into my little compost bin on top of the counter and put the rest of the junk mail in the paper sack.  It doesn't take long at all for the bag to be filled.  Now, with my new orange bin, I can recycle more than just paper without having to drive all over town to drop it off.  They'll pick it right up at the curb once a week.