MY FRIEND PLUTO

Around Christmas time Jules and James started talking about getting a dog for Seamus. A boy needs a dog to grow up with....

In our neighborhood there are alot of kids, but they are all too old to play with Shamey. They do try to include him alot, just to be kind, but they are into skateboarding and long bike rides in large groups, with parents and all.

We all agreed that a dog would be a good friend for Shamey, so one night James and Jules met at a very nice dog shelter after work, and I stayed in the car with Shamey while James and Jules went in and looked around. The place was very clean and the staff very friendly. They tentatively chose a dog, but they wanted me to come in and take a look too. (All of this time Shamey was out in the car waiting with one of us, so he would be surprised when "SANTA" brought him a dog on Christmas Eve.) It was all timed out perfectly, and Jules had to fill out hundreds of papers it seemed, but the secret was safe with us 3 adults. It was very exciting to picture his face on Christmas morning!! Actually the 3 of us adults independently picked the same dog! So it was a given! Hee Heee Heee!!

We were ready to tell them our choice, but all of a sudden the staff member working with us said, "Are there any other family members in the house besides you 3? " We said, why?"
Well, it turns out that they are very strict there and want to be sure that all family members agree on the animal chosen. It is a good idea, really, but we were not expecting it... So guess what, Shamey had to come inside and pick out a doggie from Santa.... And guess which one he picked? You got it!! The same one all 3 adults had picked!!! It was a chocolate WELSH CORGI-LAB". He was so friendly and quiet, we were all drawn to him.

So much for "surprising" Shamey! But he was so excited about "PLUTO" that it was all worth it.

I have made a friend of him since I feed him every day. Henry, our cat is the same way. They both know where the food comes from.

Pluto has to be walked 4 times each day. Most of the time, James takes him out early in the morning. Then either Jules (on weekends) or I will do it around lunch time, and James will take him out around supper time if he is at home, or I will do it. The late night walk (just before bed) is James' chore, since Jules and I don't like to go out alone after dark.

I walk about 3 miles every day anyway, so if I am up to it I will take him out on my circuit (through the park one block from our home up to the highway, through the technology government building area, and then through the woods, to our home again. He is a pretty hard dog to keep up with, so I really do get a work out when I take him out.

I almost ALWAYS forget to take 2 plastic bags, in case he poops along the way. I am not used to walking dogs. Every dog we ever had, would just stay in the yard. We never walked any of them EVER! They would not even have known what a leash was!!

Pluto was supposed to be about 3-4 yrs. old when we got him, but it turns out that the vet thinks he is about 9-10 yrs.old. He never barks or acts up at all. God Bless Pluto!
Man's BEST Friend!!!

MY FRIEND CHRIS

ME AGAIN!!

Remember in Part 1 when I said that I was praying for the Lord to give me a good friend?
Well, guess what? the very same day that I said goodbye to my old friend from 50 years ago, the Lord gave me my new friend. HONEST!! I wouldn't lie about something as important as this!! Would I? Nah.....

Earlier in the day that my old friend came to town (no names mentioned...) I met a man at the AARP Income tax office. He was 2 years younger than me and very friendly and kind. We hit it off right away. I almost did not choose him, as there were many people available, but for some reason I went to him. He did my taxes, and of course he could see from my paperwork that I was a widow. He made it known right away that he was single, never married. We talked business for awhile, his boss came over and answered a few of my questions and left, and all of a sudden The Lord said to me: "THIS IS THE MAN I HAVE FOR YOU!! Yes, He really did, and I was very reluctant to believe it myself. So I ignored the Holy Spirit..., knowing that I was going to be seeing my "old" friend in a few more minutes. All of a sudden The Lord Said to me: "THIS IS THE MAN!! Again I was reluctant....

I called to Chris and said "You know, I have been praying for a gentleman to come along, who is a Christian, to just be my friend>>>NOTHING MORE! And I think you're it! He didn't even skip a beat. He started writing down his phone number and handed it to me.

That night I said Hello and Good bye to my old friend, and Chris and I have been going out "Dutch Treat", and having a good time ever since! We have gone to museums, movies, dinner, lunch, and he comes over once a month for Christian Movie Night at my house, and I invite people from my old church as well as my new church. How great is that? He has been coming to Calvary Chapel of Largo (called "Breath of Life") every Sunday since we met, and has attended his first men's retreat at Sandy Cove, and goes to a men's Bible Study every Saturday morning.

A big void has been filled, and both Chris and I agree that it was all of the Lord. He even goes to the cemetery with me on our way home from church, and lets me cry and talk to Terry. He is my best buddy right now, next to the Lord. I am so blessed to have him for my friend, and I thank the Lord every day for bringing us together. Neither one of us ever wants to get married, but we do compliment each other very well. He will be flying to Europe in 2 weeks for a vacation, and I know I will miss him alot, but the Lord knows our hearts, and they both belong to Jesus.
AMEN??

CATCHING UP AGAIN!!

Part 1

Hi again! It's just ME, donnao.

I have not been keeping you all up on things, I know.... but you will have to forgive me because I have been involved in so many activities, including e-mailling an old beau from high school (no names mentioned...). We enjoyed each other's company online for about 4 months, and then we decided to go our seperate ways. At the time it was very exciting sharing all of our activities with each other, especially since we had not seen or heard from each other in over 50 years!! (YES!, 50 years!) You read it right. Well, we finally did meet, and we had a nice dinner out and a very nice long talk, and then he left, and that was the end of it. Neither one of us was what the other expected, I guess... Anyway, it was fun while it lasted. We do still keep in touch a little.

I had been asking the Lord to send me a friend (male), so I could just go out once in awhile and not be alone. That has been my greatest problem since Terry went home to be with the Lord. I wanted a gentleman (of course,,, ) and a Born again Christian of course. The BIG thing was that I wanted to pay for my part of the dates. Some men would not put up with that, pride I guess, but that was and is still a very important part of the friendship, or nothing at all...

Stay tuned to see what happens in Part2 of this Blog!

CATCHING UP!

I have been very busy for several months. First, we went on vacation to Williamsburg, Va., and then down to Virginia Beach, and then Seamus got sick, and spent a week in Johns Hopkins requiring a trip every day in LOTS of traffic...

When Seamus finally got home, we were all very attentive to his needs. Most of my "free" time was spent taking care of Shamey, as James' job required more and more attention. I want to be here for them when they need me, as they are always reaching out to help me.

We had never taken the trip down to see our son Woody and his family in North Carolina. I was so excited to see my other two grandchildren, Alex, who turned 12 when we were down there, and Cassidy who will turn 11 in February. I can remember taking them to the nursing home where my sister lived for 3 years, until she went home to the Lord. Everyone thought they were twins! Almost, but not quite. They are 13 months apart.

So we took the trip down to see them AT LAST!! We booked a Hilton Hotel suite, and it was wonderful! Two large bedrooms with King size beds in each one, and two private bathrooms, and a sitting room and kitchen. We were served a freshly cooked breakfast each morning, and it was all free! The cost of the hotel was very inexpensive also, compared to others we had priced, which were not half as nice! The Lord really blessed us on this trip!!

When Alex and Cassidy first walked into our hotel room, I grabbed them up in my arms, and wept like a baby. They had tears too. This visit was way overdue!They decided to stay overnight with us in the hotel. Those beds held 3 people with plenty of room over. Of course Alex slept on the couch. He is sort of bashful about sleeping with his grandmother,and that is perfectly understandable. Terry and I used to take care of them alot when we all lived "up North", so we were very close to them. I found myself looking at them and remembering how much fun we had playing with them both from infancy. They haven't changed at all, except maybe growing a few inches taller and they are both smart as a whip!!

We celebrated Alex's birthday at the RED ROBIN restaurant, and had our Christmas with them back at the hotel. We had a great time getting reacquainted with them, and even Woody and Chris, his wife. Seamus just loves being with them, and he talks about them all of the time now.

While we were down there, in the mild weather, Washington D.C., and our town of Riverdale received 16 inches of snow! What a mess we came home to!! But it was a good feeling to crawl into my own bed that night!

I am now so glad that we had that time with them, and can't wait to go back again.