I'm back...I think

Daisy

Ivan and Jasper

I'm going to give this a try again.  2017 was a rough, life-changing year for me.

Jasper

Jasper

Jasper

Daisy

Daisy

Jasper and Mark

Ivan

Ivan

Dej and Ivan

Ivan

Ivan

I lost several beings who were vitally important to me.  First, my Ivan cat.  He was my first cat. I raised him from the day he was born, and we were connected in a way that is beyond words.  After he died, I needed to make a post to honor him, but just couldn't bring myself to do it.  It's still incredibly painful to contemplate.  There were some other difficult animal losses as well--Breanna, our beautiful two-year dog, who was fine and normal and died in her sleep.  Those were some really tough losses.  We lost Jasper, who was our second cat--Ivan's little buddy, then Daisy, who was over 15 (we adopted her when she was a year old).  So many losses in the period of a couple of years!

PK and Lupe

Patrick and Gumby

I was struggling with one of my best friend's mental decline.  He was and is part of me.  He, my cousin Denny, and I were the three musketeers.  I met him my first semester in college.  He was the first vegetarian I met.  He ended his life almost three years ago now (7.27.2017), and that has changed me forever.  Profoundly.  I was with him the night of the 26th, and he ended his life a few hours after I left him.

In 2017, I couldn't really talk about these terrible losses.  I couldn't ignore them and just blog as if nothing had changed when everything had changed.  I've spent the last few years trying to get my bearings on life.  I'm in a much different, and mostly better place than I was then.  I still cry about the losses almost every single day, but I have a beautiful life, full of love, and I'm in a much better place now.

Silas

Silas and Beatrice

We've most recently adopted Silas, a foxhound mix from Arkansas, who is paraplegic.  We've had him for about a month and are finally getting the systems and routines down that make his care manageable.  We thought he had been hit by a car when we adopted him, but learned at his first vet appointment that he had been shot, at least three times by two different guns.  He still has two bullets and lots of bird shot inside him. His custom-made cart just arrived yesterday, and he's quickly learning how to use that.  The majority of the day, he gets around very well in his drag bag.

In Aug. 2019, my husband left Rotary Gardens after 21 years.  The corruption and malfeasance had reached a point far beyond the threshold of acceptability and unfortunately continues to get worse.  Leaving was a good thing for him--not so good for the gardens though.  He started a business which was doing very well, but has been wiped out by COVID, which has pretty much destroyed our job security/income.  We're still happy.  We have a home, food, and so much love in the house, it's hard to complain, though the world seems to be melting down more each day.

I think I'm finally back to a place where I can blog again and chat about life in a positive manner.  I feel like a very different person than the pre-2017-Amy.  I have a few more battle scars than that woman did, but it didn't kill me, so I must be stronger.

Our girls are all grown up.  Our younger girl is 20 and has finished her first two years of college, and our older girl turned 30 today!

Beatrice and Petey

Jezebel is 15+, and we hope she lives forever!

Evie

Froggie is still with us