June 2024

  It's the last day of June, my Birthday Month, and it was a great excuse for a short update, but sadly, our sweet pup, Violet, passed away early this morning, and I wanted to share a little about her. 

Violet had an issue with her heart that showed up just over two years ago. We thought then she only had a few months left with us, but with a diet change, medication, and lots of love, that dog lived her treat eating, slow walking'ist, full couch sleeping'ist life for over two years.

The issue with her heart was that it was too big, and unlike the Grinch, it did not give her superpowers, but she was sweet. She did dog things, like barking at the postal, UPS, and especially FedEx delivery people. She would bark at the college students and other neighbors just walking by and living their lives. She'd bark at the cats and squirrels who had the audacity of existing within sight or snoof. It was one of her jobs, and she was great at it.

Violet's other job was being a big lovey sweetheart, and she was even better at that. 

She passed away in her sleep, on her back, on her giant bed in the living room. She looked like she looked every morning, sleeping soundly with her belly exposed for belly rubs. 

We carefully moved all 150 lbs of her to the car; every part of it was a struggle. To any neighbors who may have watched us, and if you were freaked out, sorry. Then, we drove her to the emergency veterinarian clinic, where they knew exactly what to say and what to do. Thank you.

We have been so lucky to have Violet in our lives, and we are going to miss her plenty. The house feels empty and will be for a bit. 

Below are the standard bits and updates I had originally written to share and post. 

I have started reading Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. It's a great read, but I'm waiting for it to get spooky.

Some birthday books that are now in my 'to be read' pile. 

Fifty Beasts to Break your Heart by Gennarose Nethercott

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones, the third in the trilogy

You Like It Darker, by Stephen King

I had not read the last Becky Chambers book, To Be Taught, If Fortunate. I love her writing, so it will be good.

I picked up some stronger glasses that should make sitting and writing a little easier. Aging eyes are slow to focus and need a little extra help. If I am at my desk, I have a larger monitor and don't need them to be as strong, but writing at the desk where I spend the whole day doing work work is not conducive to writing. 

The new Studio Ghibli movie The Boy and the Heron was released on the 25th. It is not advertised as a scary movie but contains many horrors. So creepy. I loved it. 

I need to take more time to just get out and do things... I had a couple of little fun ideas just driving. Nothing story-based but thoughts like twins working for the city holding the stop and slow signs for folks working on the road. Drivers who notice they are identical could be a little freaked out and question reality a little bit. Another involved a man sitting at home watching Netflix while connected to his 400 lb artificial heart like the first one was a success, and this was the new normal, and the machines never got smaller. 

Like I said, it's my birthday month, so this was a shorter post.

Here's a photo of Violet looking beautiful with all her gray in the backyard a couple of days ago. The squirrels now have free reign over the bird feeders. 💜




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