Out of habit, I popped in here at 3fc to check my blog and to catch up with others, and as I read the title of my last post, “Monday Musing”, I felt oddly surprised that two full days had already passed since then. They weren’t particularly good days, but they weren’t a total loss, either.

Memories of my beloved Shelby have been hovering at the edge of my thoughts all the time, and as soon as I stop doing any task that requires concentration, they play like a reel of old film. Actually, it’s more than film, because I can call up the feel of her soft ears and cold pink nose. I did not grieve this much for my father, which probably says something not so good about one of us.

The last two days were filled with all the usual things, I even managed to accomplish 3/4 of a small development task at work. Nothing fancy, just the right size of a job for a week like this. I am finishing it off today, at this point, I am just playing with it. I had to steam clean the carpet in the living room on Monday after Shelby’s last accident, and since I was already at it, I did a bit extra. We had our comfort food on Tuesday night - those infamous meatballs with mashed potatoes and peas and carrots, and on Wednesday I made more banana bread. I exercised on Tuesday and yesterday during my lunch time, really throwing myself into it, and I can feel it in my sore muscles. Last night I (reluctantly at first) went for a long walk with Roseanne and Maya, Jessica’s 9 month old puppy.

Maya is a wonderful dog, and also very very different to Shelby. Where Shelby had this soft, gentle quality, Maya is sharp and alert. My mother used to remark, “Shelby is a very refined lady, you know.” I wish you could hear how she used to say that, with her South African accent…she would lean forward and look at you knowingly, dropping her voice and stage whispering, conspiratorally. Meanwhile, Maya is all dog, of the private-part-licking-toilet-water-drinking-foul-wind-breaking variety. She is also a joyful creature, full of bounce and very smart and will never know how close she came to ending up in some shelter in North Carolina. Oddly enough, it is her blithe spirit that endears her to me. 

Alright, I know, I know, I’ve been going on and on about dogs for days. Well, you know what they say…if you want to know what’s on a person’s mind, listen to what they talk about. I remember the first time I heard that. I couldn’t decide if it was really dumb (well, DUH!) or, in it’s simplicity, extremely clever. My  opinion leans towards extremely clever, since so few people practise active listening.

Here it is, Thursday already. The week-end looms. I do believe I need to make a plan, otherwise we’ll all wallow in our now too-quiet house. The leaves are looking glorious, still, and in today’s newspaper, I read about an easy hike. North of us there is beautiful place called Bear Mountain State Park, and I’m thinking maybe my mom and I and whoever of my girls will join us (Neil will be working) should pack a picnic and load ourselves into the car, Maya in the back, and drive up to the park. My mom is most definitely not an outdoor girl, but I’ve learned that she can be convinced to do things outside of her comfort zone. Alternatively, there is a closer park, Nyack Beach State Park, which has a beautiful walk along the Hudson. Whichever. We just need to get ourselves out and moving and enjoying the sunshine.

Now then, some planning needs to be done……