A Slowing Toby, Goodbye Aunt Joyce, and a New Family Member
It was two years ago today that Allie left us. That was such a sad time. Toby (Allie's littermate) is coming up on 15 years 4 months. His hearing is mostly gone and his vision is very limited but he seems content. 
I know his time with us is short. He's reluctant to go walking in the colder temps but when I last had him out about 10 days ago with Charlie, he led us in a run most of the last tenth of a mile home. It's been nearly a year since we've done the Fleet Farm loop (as I refer to it) on our walks and I'm fairly certain he'll never do it again. It was a favorite walk of Toby's because the roads that took us by Fleet Farm added an extra mile to our walk. I always let Toby lead us and I would smile when he'd tug at his leash to take us across Jonquil Trail in the direction of the roads that would take us by Fleet Farm. He knew exactly what he was doing. He would come home, drink his fill from his water bowl then splay out on the wood floor, panting with his tongue hanging out with a smile on his face that left no doubt, he was one very content boy. How I miss those days with him and for him.
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, we keep a diaper on him now while he's in the house because he's prone to piddling whenever the urge strikes him. Tammy found them online and they work great. We place an absorbent pad inside the diaper wrap and allow him to roam the house as he pleases.
Tammy's aunt Joyce passed away last Saturday. Joyce was a favorite aunt of Tammy's and she would regularly make trips into St Paul to spend time with her. Joyce taught her the art of making lefse and krumkake. The photo to the right is from one year ago. Making lefse was a yearly tradition they would do together going back at least ten years.
She would've been 90 on New Years Day. She will be missed.
Tammy and her mother both celebrated birthdays on Wednesday. Elaine turned 93, I think Tammy turned 30-something (insert smiley here). We met Rachel at the nursing home where Elaine is a resident. We visited with her for a while before going out for lunch. Her Alzheimers continues its march forward. I can elicit an occasional smile from her but I can no longer say it's because she recognizes me. She's a favorite among the staff at Trinity Care in Farmington, just a 20-minute drive from our home. We couldn't be happier with the staff there and the care she receives from them. Tammy is there for a couple hours at least 3 to 4 days each week.
Speaking of making lefse—Tammy has enlisted me to help her in the kitchen when she gears up for the production. It's actually a lot of fun. I mostly just handle the griddle, leaving the more difficult work of rolling out each lefse to her. We agreed that I'd try my hand at the last ball of riced potato to see if I could do it. I did just fine.
We have a new member in our household—a Roomba! And what fun! Honestly, I could stand and watch the little vacuum do its thing for hours. Think I'm kidding? It's an amazing little bit of technology that I absolutely love.
I made it to the river bottoms for Global Fat Bike Day last Saturday. We had about 30 people in our group. The weather and trail conditions couldn't have been better. Lots of fun as always!
That's all I've got.
I know his time with us is short. He's reluctant to go walking in the colder temps but when I last had him out about 10 days ago with Charlie, he led us in a run most of the last tenth of a mile home. It's been nearly a year since we've done the Fleet Farm loop (as I refer to it) on our walks and I'm fairly certain he'll never do it again. It was a favorite walk of Toby's because the roads that took us by Fleet Farm added an extra mile to our walk. I always let Toby lead us and I would smile when he'd tug at his leash to take us across Jonquil Trail in the direction of the roads that would take us by Fleet Farm. He knew exactly what he was doing. He would come home, drink his fill from his water bowl then splay out on the wood floor, panting with his tongue hanging out with a smile on his face that left no doubt, he was one very content boy. How I miss those days with him and for him.
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, we keep a diaper on him now while he's in the house because he's prone to piddling whenever the urge strikes him. Tammy found them online and they work great. We place an absorbent pad inside the diaper wrap and allow him to roam the house as he pleases.Tammy's aunt Joyce passed away last Saturday. Joyce was a favorite aunt of Tammy's and she would regularly make trips into St Paul to spend time with her. Joyce taught her the art of making lefse and krumkake. The photo to the right is from one year ago. Making lefse was a yearly tradition they would do together going back at least ten years.
She would've been 90 on New Years Day. She will be missed.Tammy and her mother both celebrated birthdays on Wednesday. Elaine turned 93, I think Tammy turned 30-something (insert smiley here). We met Rachel at the nursing home where Elaine is a resident. We visited with her for a while before going out for lunch. Her Alzheimers continues its march forward. I can elicit an occasional smile from her but I can no longer say it's because she recognizes me. She's a favorite among the staff at Trinity Care in Farmington, just a 20-minute drive from our home. We couldn't be happier with the staff there and the care she receives from them. Tammy is there for a couple hours at least 3 to 4 days each week.
Speaking of making lefse—Tammy has enlisted me to help her in the kitchen when she gears up for the production. It's actually a lot of fun. I mostly just handle the griddle, leaving the more difficult work of rolling out each lefse to her. We agreed that I'd try my hand at the last ball of riced potato to see if I could do it. I did just fine.
We have a new member in our household—a Roomba! And what fun! Honestly, I could stand and watch the little vacuum do its thing for hours. Think I'm kidding? It's an amazing little bit of technology that I absolutely love.
I made it to the river bottoms for Global Fat Bike Day last Saturday. We had about 30 people in our group. The weather and trail conditions couldn't have been better. Lots of fun as always!
That's all I've got.
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