Some Happy in the Midst of the Sad - A Birthday!

Today, in the midst of the sad, we have something happy to smile about and celebrate - Esmeralda is four years old!

This sweet, beautiful, and shy girl is one of the joys of our lives. She is still very skittish, but she has made a lot of progress in the past years. She does not immediately run away if you enter a room, and she will sometimes allow you to pet her. She loves to be talked to, and especially loves when you sing to her (even me, whose singing is more enthusiastic than in tune). 

Later we'll have some treats for the kitties, and if we are lucky, she'll even stay in the room for the festivities ... 😉

Today is also our sweet boy Hamlet's birthday in heaven. We thought he would be just fine with sharing his birthday with Esme.💕 Hamlet and Milo are the only pets we've ever had whose actual birthdays we know, the others are based on when we adopted them, or on other special days. The year we adopted Esme, it was right around this time, and like I said, we thought Hammy would be pleased to think a kitty shared his day. 

Also, Happy Cinco de Mayo! You can bet your sweet life that we are *definitely* having a margarita this evening, this year more than ever. 

*****

A couple of you have reached out directly through e-mail to send messages of love and support. And I want you to know that I appreciate it very much, but may not be able to respond anytime soon. I'm managing, and like I said, today has something happy to think of, which is helping and I'm doing the best I can, but it will just be a bit before I can get back to you. 

I absolutely know that even though I turned off the comments on yesterday's post, that a lot of love was sent my way - I can feel it. So thank you.

But today, please have a celebratory treat, drink, whatever to celebrate our shy girl. 🎂

All About the Boy

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  We have a nice and sunny but cool day here, which is especially good because today is all about this boy:

Yep, 11 years ago today, the "H" litter of puppies were born who were going to be trained as Seeing Eye Dogs.  As you may or may not know, not all doggies end up making the cut, and don't worry they go to loving homes.  But for those that do, it becomes a busy life with a lot to learn!

Here is Baby Hamlet with his original family, who owned his father, named Spike (that cracks me up!).  Look at the little fuzzball face!  I wish I could have known him as a tiny puppy, but he was a dog with a plan.

His original family socialized him, and they did the preliminary training for about a year and a half.  Then he had his test at the Seeing Eye headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey, where he passed and then went into serious training for about 2 years.  After that, he was placed with Jeff, and worked with him for about 8 years.  Jeff and his wife are both blind, and she had a black lab guide dog named Karma.  Hamlet and Karma needless to say, were best buds, and they retired about the same time.

 This photo is from a visit at Christmastime to Jeff and Sharon - that's Hamlet kissing Jeff, and Jeff's new guide dog, Mike, getting in on the action.

Here is Hamlet making sure that he has Jeff all to himself.

When we adopted Hamlet in July 2018, we were worried that he would miss his other family.  He clearly did, but he also adapted pretty well.  Then when we went to see them that Christmas, he was THRILLED to see everyone, but also ready to go home with us without incident.

A dog who, as part of his previous life, went to work every day, travelled internationally (he's been to Europe 5 times), gone of 3 cruises, and led a pretty active life, has adjusted to his retirement pretty well.  Now his "big" trips are to Baltimore or WV, which he loves I'm guessing almost as much as any of his other trips - as long as people are there, it's an adventure for him! 

He joined the family when we had three cats, and though he was a little bit nervous about them at first, having never been around cats, he quickly fit right in, and it was all a lovefest.  It's not unusual to see him napping with a cat or cats.

And gets a lot of kisses and baths from them!  (Here is the Koodle checking things out.)

Happy Birthday Hamlet!  We are so glad that you are part of our family, and we love you to the moon and back!  

Cinco for Friday-o

Yes, I know that is not the Spanish word for "Friday" - deal with it.

Hooray for Friday!  Hooray for Cinco de Mayo!  This has been a tough week, let me tell you.  It's always hard to come back after a vacation, so that was a given.  But I still have a cold, and the cough is just painful and relentless, and it's been hard to get a good night's sleep.  Then at work, I was called into the President's Office and lambasted for being rude to a "VIP" on a tour.  Last week, when I was in Puerto Rico.  Apparently my rudeness spans the time-space continuum.  I did mention that I was not here next week, and the response was "Nevertheless, remember to be polite in the future."  Grrrr.  Work is quite possibly the only place where I actually am so polite it is somewhat sickening.

Anyway, moving on.

So it's Friday, and it's Cinco de Mayo, and The Tim told me that tonight he is making guacamole.  Therefore, all is right with the world.  :-)  Guacamole cures all for me.

And now it's time for my Friday-o Cinco:

1.  Trumpcare.  I hope it is called that for all time, particularly since I know it annoys him.  I hope the Senate does something to prevent it passing altogether, especially since one of the meds I use twice a day, every single day could possibly go from $30.00 for a month's worth, to $420 a month.  But the real thing that upsets me is that it appears that it's more important for rich people to get their way, than for kindness to prevail.  I will never be OK with that.

2.  Jetsam.  Poor kitty, he had his teeth cleaned this week, and they had to pull a bunch of them, because he has tooth resorption, which I'd never heard of until they said Pip had it.  Anyway, he is fine, but you can tell he is uncomfortable.  I'm looking forward to giving him extra cuddles this weekend.  He is such a sweetie, and a good cat, that it is extra sad to see him not being his usual self.

3.  The Tim has to work both days this weekend, which sucks, but since the weather is supposed to be less than stellar, at least we're not missing prime outside time.  I have to say, I'm enjoying what actually seems like springtime weather for a change.  Usually we have a couple of day that make you happy, thinking spring has arrived, and then it's 90 degrees and humid for the duration.

4.  We went to see "Mark Twain Tonight!" with Hal Holbrook last night, and it was so great.  Holbrook is still doing the show, and he is 90 years old!  It was amusing, topical, poignant, and amazing that someone that age can still do a nearly two-hour, one-man show that is fresh and entertaining.  If you have to live that long, that has to be the best way to age.

5.  Knitting.  This weekend may be the weekend where things are tried, and hopefully even accomplished.  I am nearly done with sock #1 of my Mojito socks, so they are my happy knitting and consolation if other things don't work out well.  I may attempt the Afterthought Heel on my other pair of socks, and/or sewing together the blocked pieces of my Custom Fit sweater.  Before attempting either activity, I shall make certain there is plenty of wine in the house ...

What about you?  Are there at least 5 things that are rolling around in your brain today?  Now that I've shared those, I can concentrate on the important things rolling around in mine (a. the weekend, b. GUACAMOLE).

Whatever is rolling around in your brain, or whatever your weekend plans are, have a good one!

Oh ... and:

May Monday Meme Musings

Well, they are actually responses, but I was into the alliteration of the first three words ...

Today I'm going to share my answers to Kathy's latest meme.  I'm really enjoying these, as I love lists, questions and answers, etc.  So here you go because I'm sure you have been waiting, right? ;-)

Do you follow any blogs that are not knit or crochet blogs?
     Yep, I do.  I regularly follow some book blogs, food blogs, and some life/fashion/beauty blogs.  I don't necessarily always read the posts in a  lot of them, unless the topic is appealing, so it doesn't require as much of my time as you might think

Do you wind your yarn into cakes or balls?
     Usually into cakes.  This is largely because whenever I decide to wind yarn into balls, 99% of the time I end up with a knotted mess.  So I try to make myself pull out the swift and wind into cakes.  However, if yarn comes in a ball, it stays that way.  I'm not a glutton for punishment!

What is the longest stretch you can recall not knitting?
     About six years ago, I had surgery on my right hand, and was in a cast for about three weeks, followed by physical therapy for about a month after.  I stopped knitting until about a week before the physical therapy was finished, because prior to that, it was either too painful or not possible.

Do you bake or buy birthday cakes?
     Bake them.  I love to bake birthday cakes.  Granted, I make them from a box mix, but I enjoy the process, and like the feeling of doing something extra for someone's birthday.  Now, keep in mind that I only bake birthday cakes for those birthdays that are important to me.  If I was ever responsible, say, for a co-worker's birthday cake, it would be bought.

Do you drink water every day?
     Oh yeah.  So much that I usually slosh when I walk!

Have you given up on knitting a certain garment?
     Yep. There have been more than one thing that I got into and then decided it just wasn't gonna happen.  This used to bother me, but not anymore.

For the terrifying question there are several parts.  Have you even been:
     1. Stuck in an elevator?  Thank God NO. Though this is largely because whenever possible, I take the stairs, as I am claustrophobic.
     2.  Lost on a hike?  A few times I've thought I was, but then shortly after saw a landmark that re-oriented me.
     3.  Run out of gas?  Since I don't drive, no.  Growing up though, my father was one of those people who would drive for a while with the indicator on the Empty setting.  Drove my mother nuts, and even though we did run out of gas a few times, neither of them changed.
    4.  Needed to have an emergency landing?  Again, NO, thank God.  I'm not really a nervous flyer, but I think even one emergency landing could change that ...

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  My great-nephew Parker is four years old today, so I'm sure he'll have a good day with lots of extra attention and presents.  We're going to have a [pseudo-] Mexican dinner to celebrate, and even though it hasn't been that long since I ate my lunch, I'm really looking forward to it ...