Overwhelmed

I'm feeling extremely overwhelmed these days. I haven't been able to even think straight to use the computer. I have many ideas and photos for posts but my head feels like it's going to explode just thinking about which to use next and what to write about it. Thoughts of my Buffy and Mookie are the only thing that is keeping me calm now. Maybe I've already used this photo. They both looked so relaxed. I miss them alot. There is so many things to be done on the computer like sending my tennis photos to Walgreens to be printed out, reading and commenting on my friend's posts here, looking up recipes at Food Network and more. I think that the stress that I am getting from being constantly criticized by my brother and having to put up with his many bad behaviors like being a control freak and complaining alot has made my brain feel drained of energy. I hope that I can somehow recharge it and get back to doing the things that I enjoy like connecting with everyone here. I hope that you have all been doing well lately. And thank you very much for stopping by and for your nice comments which if I haven't replied to yet will try to do so soon.

Patriotic Pooch

I was going to add this better, closer up photo of Mookie yesterday but decided against it because of Mom's foot being in it but today I figured why not do so since Mookie looks so darn cute in it. Another 4th of July memory came to mind also that wasn't a very happy one. My dad was mad at my brother for spending alot of money on fireworks down in either Virginia or Maryland and my mom left the car and started walking and when we did get her to come back my parents didn't talk during the entire ride back to Jersey. That was in 1986. I'm pretty sure that was the same year that our neighbor called the police when Mark was setting off the fireworks and he got in trouble for having them. He was so annoyed about that. We had sparklers and little tanks but I don't remember which other kinds that he got. I was kind of scared of all of these though. I didn't want anyone getting injured.

Happy 4th of July

Here are my Star Spangled spaniel Buffy and Yankee Doodle Mookie in pictures from the early 2000s. Mom made their holiday bandanas. I can't believe that it has been 6 years without Mookie and nearly 8 months without our Buffy. I think about them everyday.

My 4th of July memories are of going over to our family friend's house in Elizabeth for a barbecue/pool party then watching the fireworks in a park nearby throughout the 70's and 80's. We did so only once in the early 90's. I was living in Pittsburgh during the summer of 1989 and saw a nice fireworks dislplay set to music. The last time that I went to one of those was either in 1999 or 2000 with my boyfriend somewhere in Central-west Jersey.

I can't remember the last time that we actually put out our flag for this holiday. Probably the late 1980's. We still have our old one from the early 70's. It's in a box in the basement behind our storage totes. I have a patriotic t-shirt with a flag and golden retreiver puppies on it that I probably will wear this year. I wish that I still had the bear one that my aunt made me in the late 80's though.

I hope that everyone has a very Happy 4th of July.

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 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.