Bed Mates

Poppy and Lolly napping

For the uninitiated, this is a pic of my 2 dogs. Poppy, in the forefront, is 6 years old next month. He is full Chihuahua and has papers. I have had him since he was a baby. By far, he is the most affectionate and smartest dog I have ever had the pleasure to know.

Lolly is the one on the far side. She looks like a Disney character, or an ice cream sandwich, or a Jersey Cow. It has been just over a year and a half since she has been in my life. Best guess on her lineage is that she is part Chihuahua part Jack Russell and she definitely does not have papers. However, she speaks both Spanish and English so she is valuable in her own right. Because of her less than stellar past, she dislikes strangers because they were the ones that took her many offspring when she wasn't yet ready. Also, keep brooms away from her. Kisses and affection are now on the positive side of the spectrum. Another gold star in her cap.

When I was very young, I was given 2 stuffed dogs. One was named Bluey (he had blue fur) and the other I named Mac. I still have Mac. This is what he looks like today:

When I look at him, it still amazes me he is here. Through all of the moves and tumult in my life, here he is! He probably could use a few more patches.

Mac and Bluey were my bedtime companions, one on each side. Because of Mac's shape, he was the one that got tucked closest to me, my arm around him, his head under my chin. I even brought them to college with me. That was when, out of embarrassment, I stopped sleeping with them. At first, it was a stressful adjustment for me. I had slept with them next to me since I was very young.

I still don't sleep with Mac. Instead I have Poppy. When we crawl into bed at night, Poppy runs up the bed to my right side and tucks his little head in my armpit, luxuriating in all of the affection I give him. He lifts his head to cover me in kisses, and then he settles down feeling loved.

Bluey is gone but I have Lolly. No matter what side Poppy ends up on, Lolly takes the other. She always has her back to me pressed up against me. I move, she moves. It is like I have a furry magnet attached to me.


I woke up in the middle of the night recently because I was hot. I felt like I couldn't move because I was tightly sandwiched between both dogs. I have a queen-sized bed but I can only spread out on it to the extent the dogs allow. I may as well be sleeping on a cot. Sometimes a very uncomfortably hot cot. I pushed them both away from me a few inches because claustrophobia was kicking in. They were surprised and unhappy about where they found themselves but I felt like an oversized hot dog in an undersized bun.

It Has Been Awhile

It has been awhile since I last wrote you. I have thought about you; I have missed you. So, I am reaching back out to you.

Remember I talked about my neighborhood and the homeless guy that created a life in the carport of the house next door? That house is now being renovated and he had to go. I still see him walking up and down my street with his cart full of recycling so he still lives somewhere close by.

Lolly is sitting on my lap as I write this. She now comes to me for affection and doesn't growl in response to kisses on her head. She continues to heal from the wounds caused by her abusive past but has made tremendous headway.

Chihuahuas are the only dogs with the ability to make tears. Poppy has never done it but Lolly, even being part Jack Russell, does. The darker spots under her eyes is because her fur is wet from them. She will look at me with love and tear up!

I have been on a dating website for a couple of weeks now. It's been interesting! Fun, too. I give it a thumbs up. The trick is to be happy first so that anything else that comes along is icing on the cake.

Work has been fantastic, as always. No job is perfect but mine is pretty damn close to it! I can thank the people I work with for that. We are a healthy growing organization and I am proud to be a part of it.

It rained for a solid 2 weeks. We finally saw the sun again a couple of days ago. Instead of feeling depressed by it, I got anxious and wired. It is good to see the sky blue again.

For those that have read my posts about my mother, she's hanging in there! At 83 she is still in her home and driving. My younger sister and I tag team making sure one of us has either spoken to her or seen her that day. 

I've talked about everything but my health so here it goes. You know I have had thyroid cancer and then a closed head injury. I recovered from both so now there is something new. I have seen 5 health professionals about it, so far. Hopefully I am closer to an answer than before. I have one more that I am awaiting an appointment to be made and that is with an infectious disease doctor. At this point, I have had to talk about it so much that I am sick of talking about it. I'll just say that my symptoms of lower back pain and cyclical low grade fevers has been going on since last September. Aspirin is the only thing that has been taking the edge off. Some days are more difficult to function than others, but can't we all say that?

You are basically caught up now. Wait! One more thing. This year is my 40th High School reunion. I am not going to attend. It really wasn't the best time in my life so why experience it all over again? Some classmates are very excited about it but then again they still call each other by the nicknames they gave each other in High School.

Ok. Now you are caught up. Well, I do want to say one more thing. I am happy. The world is turning to shit because of our asinine president and my health is in question, but I am happy. Content. You know who I can thank for that? Jim. He taught me the principles of how to do that. I put them into practice.

Just an Ant's World

I walk Lolly and Pop every night after work. A few days ago, Poppy decided to pee on an ant hill. We have red ants in Florida and they are mean SOBs. He lifted his leg and the warm stream of urine rained. Pissed off (pun intended) ants showed up to the gun and knife fight looking for blood and revenge. Poppy had already walked away. Are you an ant...or Poppy? Maybe you are me, holding the leash while watching the show. 

One Dollar

When I tell people I live near downtown Sarasota, they get all starry eyed as their minds fill up with thoughts of beautiful high-rise condos and amazing sunsets.  Their fantasy melts like hot wax when I tell them my neighborhood is a few blocks to the north of downtown and it is composed of Hispanics, Blacks, and Whites, in that order.  I am not rich.  I don't have a partner, rich or poor.

As their thoughts of utopia wave bye-bye in their mind's rear view mirror, they come back to reality.

Because of Lithuanian descendants, I am dark haired with olive skin darkened even more by the sun.  When I take Poppy out for his walks, it isn't unusual for me to be approached by people.  He is a cutie-pie and we all know it!  They say, "¿Cómo está usted?" or "¿Cómo está?" It has happened enough that now I reply with, "Fine.  You?"  It is when they walk up to me and speak a whole lot of Spanish that I have to respond with, "I don't speak Spanish."

It is an interesting place to live and when I visit my mother, and I do every week, who lives in money-is-no-object suburbia, it is a bit of a culture shock.  There is no blending of the races because everyone is one race...at least that has been my experience so far.  I walk my dog there, too, but usually not alone as my mother has two of her own.  We do it together and our goal is getting to the dog park which is located around the block next to the kid's playground which is located next to the bocce ball area which is located next to the 2 pools and 1 Jacuzzi which are attached to the clubhouse.

What am I trying to say?  I live in a poor neighborhood.  I was in the Save-A-Lot a couple of nights ago for milk and being that it is the closest grocery store I opted for convenience.  As I am walking to my car with a box bottom filled with a few heavy items, I see a man holding money in his hands counting it.  I knew what was going to happen and instead of turning my head signaling that he should not approach me, I kept looking at his unshaven face as I rested the box on my trunk.  As he walked over to me he said, "Ma'am.  Do you have 79 cents?  I am embarrassed to have to ask but I need...."  I couldn't make out exactly what he needed it for but it didn't matter.  Was it the truth anyway?  I would never know.  I opened my wallet and counted my change.  "I only have 54 cents," I said.  His face fell with disappointment and the bubble over his head read,"What am I going to do now?"  He wasn't expecting me to finish my sentence with, "So here is one dollar."  I took it out of my wallet and gave it to him.  As he reached out his hand to take it, he was a bit stunned.  Then thanked me and thanked me again and wished me a great night.  He was smiling and all it took was one dollar.  What he doesn't know is that he made me more happy than I made him.  I felt it best to leave it at that.