10 December 2015

Reset, Re-calibrate & Reboot

Test.  Test.  Test.  Is this thing on?    

Sorry guys.   I've been absent from the keyboard a while.  Kind of a self imposed hiatus from the blogosphere.  No real excuse although I seemed to have misplaced my muse.  Things have taken a different turn down here and I have been distracted from posting anything or even keeping up with everyone.  

To paraphrase something Terri said earlier, I like to think that we are working towards a new normal.  With SIL's passing back in August, life has taken some different turns.  We are slowly settling her estate and wading through the morass of legal paperwork/probate/estate planning.  Trying to close out someone's life is not something we were trained to do.  

Momma is holding up well.  Everyone is concerned with her but she is handling the situation without needing much of my help.  I am more of a moral support, providing the back and legs to whatever needs to be done.  Clearing out the storage room, going through all of the files, fixing the sprinkler system, taking supplies to the food pantry, feeding the cats (poop scooping as well), etc.  Just another day in the hood.  We are slowly closing out things at her house.  There's no real rush on our part (or, at least I am not rushing momma).  The house is only 20 minutes away so it is easy for us to go over and take care of things.  We still have way too many cats (IMHO) but we have been able to offload one to a friend.  We are looking at other options to reduce the horde, but still keeping our promise to SIL to find good homes for all of them (no shelters) - going against the advice of some "friends".  In the meantime, they continue to live in the high life in the cat house.  They ain't suffering too much (unless it's when I leave the TV tuned into the Walking Dead Marathon).           


At work, things have taken on a whole new level of intense.  We merged with another bigger company in October and, as with any merger, things are changing.  New name, new priorities, new overlords.  I have been out traveling a bit on supplier audits with a road trip to Wisconsin and California and it looks like I am going to do a bunch more next year. We were supposed to go over to France a few weeks back right about the time all of the crap went down.  We actually had people in the air to Paris on Friday when everything fell apart.  The company made the decision to cancel the meeting and send everyone home and do the conference via skype.  Things have settled down a bit but my horoscope has a road trip to France in my future for next year.

At home, we've been busy as well.  I have been able to make most of the home football games at A&M in the trailer with the dogs.  Not overly impressed with the team's performance, but at least we had a decent time camping.  

I also have been doing more doggy stuff over the past few months.  Claire & Grayson are doing well, although Claire is slowing down a bit.  Honestly, I am worried about her - her back end is weak and she doesn't have the stamina for long walks.  Have taken her to the vet for testing but, at her age (12/13), there is not really much that they can do.  We did pick up a guest for Thanksgiving week while  my brother was off shore on a cruise.  Parents/brothers did a Caribbean cruise (I passed) and I offered to take care of his fur baby.  A 7 year old Border Collie called Dot.  A very cute, intelligent and intense dog.  At first I was worried that she would not get along with my two, but they were best buddies by the second day.  Since Dot is a trained sheep dog, it was funny to watch her try to herd Grayson when they were out running.  Cute dog.  By the end of the week, momma wanted to keep her.     


Cute?  Me?

Her favorite hangout


I also wound up doing a foster run the same weekend I picked up Dot.  Got a call to meet a woman down in El Campo (1.5 hours south) to pick up a OTI (owner turn in) dog that was to be fostered by our group.  Duke was an absolutely gorgeous 18 month old Golden that was full of energy.  The woman was turning him in because her job had her travelling 5 days a week and she was moving to a place were there weren't any good options to take care of the dog.  She had the dog since it was a puppy and just wasn't able to be home enough to take care of him, so she did the right thing and chose to give him up to a family that would give him the love and attention he deserved.  One of the harder OTIs I've done.  She was heartbroken to let him go.  I only had him for the short drive back to Houston, but had decided that, if we didn't already have Dot to take care of, I would have taken him home.  I just read on our website that Duke has already found a furever home with a good family and another Golden buddy.  That's one of the reasons I stick with this foster group - the benefits far outweigh the costs.         


Say hello to Duke
I am trying to get back into the swing of things, but no promises.  One step at a time.  First order of business is to go catch up on everyone's blogs and that may take me a while.  

5 comments:

ShadowRun300 said...

What a great comeback blog!
I'm happy to hear Mrs. Agg is holding up well. The days/weeks/months following the loss of a loved one can be rough emotionally. Pile on a bunch of paperwork, and it's even more difficult. I'm sure she's very appreciative of your support.
And good for you for making a doggy run. You're right, it's a great program, and I know she's thrilled her golden found a good home.
Give Claire a big rubdown from me. Having gone through those issues with Chancie, I know exactly how she feels.
And finally, I'm glad to hear you're still making time for camping trips down to A&M. With all that you got going on, it's important to take some "me" time too.
Thanks for catching us all up! Don't wait so long the next time! ;)

Abby said...

Well look who's here!
I suppose you've had plenty on your plate unless you're making half this stuff up. Sounds like there's plenty to do in the wake of SIL's passing in addition to the grieving. I'm glad there's no real rush, you and Mrs. Agg should take your time.
And Dot is absolutely adorable. I love me some Border Collie. Our dog Domino was a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix - great dog. I get the "intelligent and intense". And Duke, I'm sure it was hard letting go, but thankfully the previous owner had Duke's best interest in mind. Good luck with Claire. China's not getting any younger, we take each day as it comes.

Rock Chef said...

Duke is lovely, no wonder you fell for him!

Border Collies are a real handful, though, aren't they? Really need lots of activity to keep them interested. We have a friend with one. Custard more or less ignores her, but Frou hates being herded.

Good to see you! As you can see, I have not been very good either!

Anonymous said...

So glad to see you back ... yet sorry to hear how stressful things have been in your world. All part of the journey, I suppose. As we grow older, we're all bound to experience the issues of death, the aftermath and such. I can sympathize with having the pressures of work and corporate change intermingled with personal life during such a sad and stressful time.

Sounds like you're keeping up with as positive an outlook as possible. Hang in there. Your friends have your back (at least as best as we can with all the miles between us.)

p.s. I saw that you were looking for me on the blog I closed down. If I haven't already shared the link to my new place, this should get you there.)

Terri

Riot Kitty said...

More doggie stuff is good for the soul ;)