SHE TOOK MY HEART WITH HER

As you know, my blog is about polymer clay, crafts, friends and animals.  For two years I've been walking my friend's three dogs.  My friend has a bad knee and hip.  The reason she has three dogs is because her husband loved to rescue dogs and so does she.  This started with Beau.

He's a good old boy.  A little bit of arthritis but doing good.

Five years ago my friend saw a dog at the shelter that pulled on her heart strings.  I drove her there to bring this beautiful dog home with her.  The first thing I noticed was her beautiful teeth.

She had been abused by some tall man, and then was adopted only to be brought back to the shelter.

At first, she would bite the back ankle of any man that came in the house.  After much love, attention and many walks with Beau, she stopped being afraid and became a lovable lap dog.

Two and a half years ago my friend's husband was walking dogs for the local small dog rescue lady.  They found a little guy in the Safeway parking lot.  Rex just couldn't leave him there.  So Champ was added to the family.

He definitely is special and funny and cute.

December of 2012 my friend's husband died unexpectedly.  I started walking the dogs a couple months later and it's been my "best job" ever since.

It was pretty obvious that Honey was the leader of the pack, the queen and the lead dog.

A couple years ago Honey started coughing and we found out she had congestive heart failure.  She's been on Lasix and was doing good.  Then she got bit by a coyote trying to protect Champ.  She came out of that with flying colors.

The last couple months her coughing got bad but she still wanted to walk and play with the boys.

Three weeks ago I went to Florida for my mother's 90 th birthday.  I spent time with Honey the day before I left.

This is the last time I saw Honey.  While I was in Florida, Honey's congestive heart failure got really bad and she could hardly breathe or control her bladder.  She struggled to walk and get air.

  I know she was suffering and they did the right thing for her.  I know she loved me because she always sat on my lap and would paw my hand if I stopped petting her.

I feel so bad that I didn't get to say goodbye to her.

The doctor who took care of Honey did everything he could to help her have a good life at the end.  He even sent a carnation to my friend.  She gave it to me yesterday to see if I could do something with it to preserve it.  I sprayed it with PYMII three times to preserve it.  I found a little flower vase that I had made a long time ago.  So I made a plaque that says HONEY and drilled out the clay so the flower would fit.

I'm sorry if this is a sad post compared to my usually funny ones but I wanted to dedicate a writing to Honey, who always showed unconditional love and gratitude for being rescued and loved by everyone that met her.

Thank you Honey for all the wonderful years you let us have you in our lives.

A REALLY FUN HOT DAY

Yesterday my friends Carol, Judy and Evelyn took me out to lunch for my birthday even though it was August 22nd.  I was in Chicago on my birthday and yesterday was the first day we could all get together.

It was 109 outside and very humid but we dragged ourselves to The Cheesecake Factory and had a wonderful lunch.  Before I left for Chicago, Evelyn bought me a beautiful purple suitcase that spins and expands, it is awesome.

My dear friend Carol hasn't been doing clay very long but she always did earth clay and she was an incredible sculptress (I think that's what you call a woman sculptor).  She came over one day with these pendants that she had made and you could have knocked me over with a feather.  She gave me one for my birthday and it was my favorite one.

I need to take a better picture but I have a headache and didn't feel like getting all my stuff out.  The cords slide and those are real feathers and beads and leather cord.  I'm hoping she gets them on Etsy.  Southwest stuff is really big right now and this is an amazing work of art.

My friend Judy gave me this neat high heeled shoe tape dispenser.  I remember wearing high heels and then having foot surgery because I couldn't walk anymore.  I get tickled when I look at this and think about all the young girls wearing 6 inch platforms now and what their feet are going to be like when they get to be my age.  I would like to find the guy who invented high heels and make him wear them for a full day.  Then again, maybe he does.  LOL  I also got bags with gorgeous copper bails, a gizmo to stamp out a picture and automatically put an acrylic top on it and some gold stamp pads.  I made quite a haul.

This is my good buddy Champ.  I made his sister and brother blankets so I thought I better make him one.  I didn't tell his mom but before I gave him the blanket, I rubbed dogie bacon all over it.  She called and told me how much he liked it and he keeps rolling in it and rubbing his nose in it.  I had to confess what I did.  She thought that was pretty funny.

I have a new extruder that I got from a place called Lucy Clay in Czechoslovakia.   I'm hoping to try it today and I'll let you know how it works tomorrow with pictures.