Easter Memories

I loved Easter time as a kid. Decorating the house, dyeing and searching for the eggs, the candy, the meal and being with friends and family was always so special and fun. We would have ham, keilbasa, farmers cheese, babka, potato salad and coleslaw and of course eggs for an early dinner. These photos are from 1981. My Ginger pup managed to get in the background in 2 of them. We usually spent most of the day next door at our grandma's house. That's where we are in 3 of the pictures. The one with Mom, Mark and I is in front of our place. Grandma got us the bunnies that we are holding in the photo with our friends Suzy and Jenny. I remember how excited we were to finally have candy after giving it up for Lent sometimes during our school days. We loved the Gertrude Hawk brand candy that we would order through our school fund raising back then. A white chocolate cross and peanut butter filled and regular chocolate Smidgens were always a part of it.

Our Mookie

I keep writing about our Buffy pup and feel bad that I have only mentioned our Mookie a little bit and that was a while ago. This picture is from 1993. She looks so adorable. We got her in October 1992 from friends of the family who already had 4 doggies and someone had given them Mookie because they didn't want her anymore. At first I didn't really like her because I didn't want another doggie, not after what had happened to my Ginger 6 years earlier but eventually I grew to love her too. She is a terrier, Llhasa Apso mix. She was about 2 years old here and we had her until 2005 when she got so sick that we had to have her put to sleep. She was a very playful doggie and loved her stuffed llama and football.

My Ginger

We went to the animal shelter one day in 1979 and saw the cutest puppy. She was being picked on by the other puppy in the cage with her. We fell in love with her immediately and took her home with us. My grandma was the one who gave her the name Ginger. She looks a little like Benji. She was such a wonderful dog and mom says that she was definitely my girl. She always comforted me when I was feeling sad. She would sit next to me and give me little kisses to make me feel better. We don't have that many pictures of her - these are just a few of maybe about 15. No puppy ones. She was only in our lives for about 7 years. She got sick and my dad wouldn't even pay to find out what was wrong with her. It might've just been just an infection that meds would have cleared up. I still miss here even after all this time - it will be 25 years in October since she was put to sleep. I wrote about her when I first started this blog but didn't know how to add pictures back then.

My Doggies

My first dog was a beautiful sheltie named Rusty. He was very protective of my brother and I. One day a bee was buzzing around me and my Uncle was swatting at it to try to make it go away. Rusty must have thought that he was attacking me so he jumped up on my Uncle and was attacking him. I have a vague recollection of this - I was only about 7 or 8 at the time. Mom and Dad told us that a nice farmer took him to live on a farm with him but years later we found out that he had really been put to sleep which saddened me.

We didn't get another doggie until about a year later from a shelter this time. We saw a very adorable puppy in a cage being picked on by another puppy. We immediately fell in love with her. Grandma- next- door said that Ginger would be a good name for her and we liked this. Grandma always spoiled her. She wouldn't even let Aunt Dorothy's dogs in her house but Ginger was over there often and she'd give her treats like part of a hot dog. I wrote more about her yesterday which got me all emotional . I just wish that we had had her in our lives for more than 7 years.

I did not want another dog after this. Mom did get one and I don't even remember it's name which I feel bad about. She adopted it from a pet fair and we didn't have her that long because she had behavioural problems. I do feel guilty for taking her to the animal shelter and hope that she got adopted. I wish that I had looked into a no kill shelter. Back then I really did not know anything about these. Mom tried again with another terrier mix- Cindy. Same story with her. Maybe many people might think that we didn't try hard enough to retrain these doggies. I'll always feel bad about both these doggies.

Our Mookie came into our lives about a year later. We were at our friend's house. Someone left a doggie in their yard- I don't remember all the details about this. They already had 4 doggies. Mookie sat by mom the entire time. That night we took her home with us. At first I didn't like her but eventually I grew to love her. We had her for about 14 years. She's a lhasa apso/terrier mix.

My brother really wanted to get a cocker spaniel and I wanted one too. One day when Mom and I were visiting my Aunt in South Jersey we were going to go to the flea market but it was raining so we went to the pet store nearby instead. We saw some cocker spaniels and mom asked if any of them were girls. The salesclerk said no but luckily another one said that they had one in the back. It was love at first sight. I already had a name for her- Buffy. She was such a good girl during the hour drive home, although she did try getting over to mom's lap many times. Even from day one she was a grandma's girl. We stopped at a fruit and veg stand. Buffy had a little accident in the car which would not have happened if we weren't stupid and bought a leash. I would've walked around with her while mom bought her tomatoes. She is like a gift from God- if it hadn't been raining that day we wouldn't have found her. She just turned 12 in February and I wish that she could be around for a few more years but because of her multiple organ problems it might only be a few more months. She is so spoiled and loving. My favourite part of the day is when we sit on the couch together. I remember how much she used to love playing with her pet rocks. I have alot of pictures of her and Mookie. They were good friends. It was very stupid that I didn't take that many puppy pictures of her though- only like 14. I could go on and on about her and probably will mention her more in the future but now it's time for us to sit together and watch The Price Is Right.

My Ginger pup

I think about my dog Ginger alot. I only had her for about 7 years but it should have been longer. She was really sick but my dad wouldn't pay the vet bill to find out what was wrong with her and just had her put to sleep. It might have been just something like an infection and medicine would have made her better. I can never forgive him for this. Maybe God is displeased with me for thinking this way. She was my best friend and would always comfort me when I was upset, especially when my parents were arguing. She's a terrier mix who looked a little like Benji. We got her in 1979, I think, and by the fall of 1986 she was no longer around. I hope that someday I get to see her and all my doggies again. One day she somehow got into a bottle of cough syrup and drank nearly the whole thing and was foaming at the mouth- poor baby. She loved playing with empty plastic soda bottles. I wish that I could remember more of the good times that I had with her but my brain seems to hold onto the bad memories which are very vivid and the good ones are hazy and seem just like a dream.

I wish that my family and I never took that trip to Virginia in late summer 1986. Ginger started getting sick shortly after we returned. We had put her in the boarding place at the vet's office- she must have picked up a sickness of some sort there. Usually my uncle took care of her when we went away but he wasn't able to that time. Am I a terrible person for still being so angry at my dad? He was always willing to lend money to his brothers and sister which they hardly ever paid back yet he wouldn't give us money to find out what was wrong with my doggie- he knew how much that I loved her. Maybe he was mad at me for some reason and took out his anger in this way. Maybe if I visited his mother more like he wanted me to he would've paid for that vet bill. It's really not fair if that's the case. I can't seem to let this go. Ginger was the best doggie ever. I love our Buffy now too, but she's more of a grandma's girl and Ginger was definitely my girl.