I have been sort of absent lately, though I have poked my head in a bit to see what you have all been doing.

We lost our beautiful Pinkerton quite suddenly on April 30. I embroidered a blanket to cover my special doggie in his casket.

And I finally finished Teddy's quilt.

There are some newly added pictures of the doggies in my album too.

All in my Flickr album.

MizLilly, I think we all feel and undertand your sorrow in loosing Pinkerton and our hearts are with you. We lost our beloved Sadie March 31 and the hole in our hearts is enormous. The still flow like a raging river, but our hearts are desperately trying to accept and forcus on the wonderful memories of we shared. Hopefully a peace will come eventually. How is Wills managing the loss of his companion? Much love and prayers to you and the family as you transition through this difficult time.

((Hugs)) ...

My heart goes out to you on losing Pinkerton. I know he was so special to you and a family member. I truly understand. About a month and a half ago, my lab, Chocco, was attacked by what we think may have been a wolf or coyote. He was in terrible shape and in so much pain, had to have stitches, drain tubes etc. His hair was shaved to the skin so much that I don't think some places are going to grow back. I call him Patches now. He will have some bad scars too. He couldn't lay down, he walked the floor and moaned. Fortunately he is better now and making a full recovery except for the scars and hair not growning back. I just wanted to cry seeing him in so much pain. I felt so helpless.

so much. Bluebonnets, I am able to think about the happy memories, but still every day there are tears. You lost your doggie one month before we lost Pinks. I wonder how long it takes to get beyond crying every day? Nel, I sure hope Chocco heals up well, and soon. What an awful thing to have happened!

MizLilly... I'm not sure the will ever stop but hope that the memories will fill the void. Sadie is with me every day in more ways than I ever thought she would be. The triggers are everwhere but the raw emotions are still very overpowering in our house. She was my rock, my friend, and so much more, but mostly it was her unconditional love that stole my soul. Looking ahead for brighter days to come. Sending our love and hugs to you and your family.

Nell, sorry to hear about Chocco, that would be terrifying not only for Chocco, but for you too to see him in such bad shape. Give Chocco a hug and a treat from us... sending plenty of slurpie kisses to him. Do you live in the country? We back onto a park which borders a ravine and often see wild game, moose, deer, wolves, coyotes, in the park at night because there is a pond. The rabbits and gophers are plentiful, so the coyotes come in packs and hunt at night. There is a light in the middle of the park which casts light for quite a distance in the area and you can see and hear the wolves and coyotes often. It sometimes wakes me and I sit on the kitchen deck and watch them for hours hunting or playing in the park.

On the bright side, the geese and ducks that come visit are hilarious. This spring we have one goose and one duck that "hang out together" as the "odd" couple. Where the goose goes, the duck goes and when the duck goes, the goose goes, both of them come into the pond together and leave together... in all my years of watching waterfowl, I've not seen such a bond between the two species. Other flocks of ducks and geese come to the pond, but they stick to themselves and protect each other. Perhaps they both lost their parents early in life and have just bonded. Anyways, we get a real kick out of them.

Was worried last night, we had four tornados touch down in Southern Alberta, high winds, pelting rain, lost some apple tree branches and it the winds gave our King Maple tree a real beating. Fortunately, we weren't in the direct line of fire, but the TV kept up with the tornado warnings and it wasn't very pleasant for sure. Was awake most of the night listening to the alerts trying to be ready if we had to button down, but fortunately, we were OK.

This morning, it was a relief to see the duck and the goose back on the pond, guess they made it OK too!

Better run, more rain on the horizon and lots to do.

Bluebonnet, you said it all when you said unconditional love they give.

Rumor has it you have a new baby Mizlilly, posting pictures so we can see? I bet you are already planning what you are going to sew next.

Of course I love your quilt, you did a great job on it, wouldn't know it was a first at all.....

So sad not to have Pinkerton by your side. That is going to take some time..... It is hard when our loved ones have a larger than life impact on us to cope with their absence.

Well I finally brought myself to wash the quilt on our bed. Normally I wash it once a month, but couldn't bear to wash away that Pinkie fur.

Yes, there is indeed a new baby at my house Shel. A Brother 6700D aka Quattro 2. I am sewing on my Bernina 830 and embroidering on the Brother. I have a bunch of WIP's. There are some pics in my Flickr album. I hope to get them finished up soon. A few things just need snaps and buttons. The sea horse will become a romper for Teddy and the tea pot will be framed for a gift.

I can relate.... Sadie hadn't been able to jump up on the bed for a long time, so she slept at the foot of our bed in her big comfy circular bed. When we came home from the vet, I did a few loads of her laundry, bed, blankets, towels and carefully folded them all up and laid them in the bed. She was shedding massive dog hair in the spring and I have some allergies to them, so I thought it best to take care of that right away. Since that time, although the bed gets moved to vaccuum, it still remains in position and we still look at the empty space and of course the flow. I suggested to hubby that we move it to the attic over the garage and he said he would do that for me, but he hasn't yet. I think neither of us are ready to finalize the event. When I washed everything, my dryer lint trap was overfull and it took everything I had to throw it away. It's tough, we love our fur babies so and they leave such a crater in our hearts when they are gone.

Forgot to add, at least this new baby doesn't shed. Nice pics in your album. Keeping busy really helps. I've tackled my backlog too and although the fight with my website continues, managed to get some of the Native American applique designs up since Aboriginal Days is here this week. Been stitching them on regalia for the local fancy shawl dancers.

We sure are in the same boat. I can't bear to move Pinkie's bed, and even the steps he used to get off the bed are still there. Plus the runners on the main floor. I think I will just leave them there until I have my surgery. I'd wondered what I would do with them since they recommend getting rid of throw rugs and the stairs are an obvious trip hazard on my side of the bed...

And thanks for your kind words on my stitching'!

MizLilly, I guess our thinking is that although we have no plans to find another fur baby anytime soon, the day or opportunity might come that we can either recycle or use something that was dear to our hearts. Most of Sadies stuff we took to the animal shelter, the really personal stuff, that needs another home or a place that you know in your heart these items should be.

The hard part for me will be when hubby is back working on extended leaves and I don't have my fur baby to keep me company. That is going to be really really tough. I'm sure you and the family are working through the same issues.

As for your stitching, the members on this forum continue to inspire me to get back into what I used to do non-stop and I am forever grateful as all those years with computer and medical issues really dragged me down. Now that I am healthy, healed and have an awesome computer system and local geek to provide support if I ever crash again... I'm getting ready to burst out of the starting gate and get my life back. You folks really have played a big role in helping me get my feet back under me and be re-energized. Although I don't have the little gkids to stitch for, I'm trying to find my own path.

Keep up the good work, stitching till you drop and maybe time will help us heal our hearts.