Is possibly the saddest day I’ve ever had…
She was so cute and so funny… ALWAYS made us laugh…
She will always be SO loved…
She was always SO smart…
Her last days…
MIA for a few days… sorry…
Today…
Author: Mae @ Rainydayinmay
Desert native who claims the Pacific Northwest at home, while currently residing the Northeast. Lifecoach, Podcaster, PR writer, essay author, imaginary poet and every day dreamer...
This could be your lucky day…
Ok, you guys… Amidst all of this sadness I’ve got something REALLY FREAKING GREAT to tell you!
Are you ready?
I conversed with the author Laura Harrington on twitter! Anyone who reads this blog, is on my FB or has seen me at all this week knows that i DEEPLY loved her book…
My husband will be the first to assure anyone who asks that:
– I am overly critical.
– my “favorite” lists are seldom penetrated. This goes for film lists, music lists AND book lists.
– I still have not shut up about this book.
– This book is now on my favorite list, and quite possibly MY FAVORITE book.
The truth is, I checked this book out, from the library, on a whim. I was sad about Makaila’s cancer diagnosis and needed a distraction. As I mentioned before, after the slew of horrible books I read, over the summer- my hopes were at a reasonable low. I am now going to buy this book (which I read in one sitting, completely immersed in it.) as well as a brand new highlighter because Laura’s writing style is simply stunning. I NEED to make certain lines stand out. It took every ounce of self control I have to not underline the library’s copy to death…
The thing is, I am so jealous. So jealous because Laura and Penguin offered to give two of my readers their very own copies of Alice Bliss. You guys are so lucky!!! (well, two of you, anyway…)
So, here’s the deal:
– 1 entry (and you WANT to enter. you WANT to win this book. I promise) for commenting. In your comment tell me your book recommendation as I need some more good reading!
– 1 additional entry if you tweet this giveaway. (leave the hyper link in a comment)
– 1 additional entry if you blog this giveaway. (leave the link in a comment)
– 3 (yes, THREE) additional entries for every person who enters and says they came from your blog.
– 5 entries if you go to Twitter and follow Laura, AND Penguin Books AND me!… {remember to come back and comment, letting me know!}
Make sure you leave your email OR your name links to your email… HAPPY READING!
Entry Deadline is Wednesday August 31st, at 11:59 p.m.
and i shall call her…
nothing!
No, really. i don’t make a habit of naming my stuff…
But I am pretty sure that she is a she, which some people may find ridiculous but I really don’t care.
i adore her and think she is absolutely stunning!
I picked up a couple of special freelance projects, over the summer, and pooled my earnings towards the purchase of this Vintage TLR camera. {I have had one nestled at the top of my personal wishlist for pretty much ever.} i haven’t shot with her yet as film is impossible to acquire locally and I’ve been too consumed with doggy sadness to pursue it online.
i did buy her online. About a month ago. My very overpriced, priority (2-3 day) shipping was a bit more like 23 day shipping. And the customer service i received would have been more respectful/thorough from a rock.
BUT, no matter, she’s here…
Being that she is vintage AND that the seller is a less than honest individual- there is always that possibility that I was ripped off and this camera won’t work.
At this point, suffice to say, I am trying to stay optimistic.
I just wanted to show off my girl, and brag a little.
I am done now.
A Mere Distraction…
If you are keeping up with things around Chez’ Wagner, here at Rainy Day in May- then you already know about our super sadness… As you can imagine, we’ve been in the market for some distractions.
One came in the form of ice cream, and one in chocolate. A major one has come in the form of lots of sleep… When not sleeping or delighting in chocolate and frozen heaven though, I read a book and watched a movie.
And counted the hours til’ the Glee Project, but that’s an altogether different thing…
The book I picked up, expecting not to be able to get into it due to my heavy heart was Alice Bliss. Not only did I manage to get into it- but I could not put it down until I had turned the last page. LOVELY!
I am so incredibly sorry that I left my readers to such torturous books this summer when this amazing piece of literature was out there…
Thinking that I was on a roll, i ran down and rented this movie:
The Romantics… Have you seen it?
I’ve been waiting for awhile. Such an amazing cast, and let’s face it- I have loved Josh since his All My Children days…
It was interesting. Quirky and bizarre. Dark in strange ways. An awkward human study where, at the same time a part of you questions if humans are really like this odd study portrays. It had strange musical moments or amazing ones. Believably deep performances and some of the cinema shots towards the end were phenomenal.
Over all, although distracting it was not really what I’d hoped.
Too bad…
Tomorrow I plan to start Plainsong, to which I saw the HORRIBLE Hallmark movie for- and found myself completely intrigued by the novel. Also, while my husband scrolled through years of digital photos looking to soothe his soul while Makaila slept beside him- I got busy and {finally} joined Good Reads. Addictive. Are you on there? If so- find me!
So, tell me- chocolate and ice cream aside- what are your “go to” distractions when your heart is aching?
Guidance Counselor…
Someone, somewhere, is crouching and waiting to give their opinion. Always.
Apparently there is someone (or more than one someone) who feels that my post about my dog implies that she is laying on the brink of death and that we are, in reality, heartless and cruel dog owners planning on senselessly killing our beloved pet.
Allow me to set the record straight, and if I did imply that things were different than they were- Then it was likely due to overwhelming grief.
{Because, you know, I LOVE my dog.}
-She still eats, twice a day.
-She enjoys “cookies” and other treats.
-She plays, some.
-She sleeps a lot.
-She is mobile and, when excited, completely full of high energy.
-She is still bossy and barks whenever she wants.
For someone who is not here every bit of the day, with her, she might even seem like the same exact dog she was a year ago. But she isn’t.
When she goes outside, to go potty, she squats for almost 10 minutes. After those 10 minutes, she releases less than a tablespoon of urine. This is because she has a cancerous tumor, in her bladder. the tumor is placed in a way that surgery is not an option. She would go into immediate kidney damage and die.
Her bladder sits between 95 and 100% full, all of the time. Her urine is backing up into her kidneys. The early stages of kidney failure are setting in. At this stage that looks like clumps of hair just falling out, mild diarrhea and vomiting when her bladder gets too full. This typically was occurring around 2 a.m. and again around 5 a.m. but we’ve started setting alarms to take her outside so that she does not have to endure that.
There is a medication we can give her that will simply slow the cancer progression, prolonging her life by up to three months. We love her, we are selfish- of course we considered this. In fact, my husband who is not ready to say goodbye, decided this. Until the reality struck me that an incredibly full bladder is so painfully uncomfortable and she lives with that EVERY DAY.
Could we ask her to endure that, and worse, because we weren’t ready to let her go?
We have read up on actual kidney damage and what that looks like. It’s gruesome. I can’t see her like that. Our sweet pets, who become such a vital part of our family, they don’t have voices to tell us when they are hurting. They don’t have a way to communicate what they want… But when we visibly see her decline (even if it’s just little bits) everyday, we have no choice.
She deserves to enjoy her last days.
As it is, we have no way of knowing how much pain she is in.
We decided to give her a week. A week where every day we dote on her, love on her and give her things she loves. A week where we can try to process this significant loss that we are inching closer towards.
As her people, who love her, this is our decision. While some people have made it clear that they feel killing her when she is “fine” makes us horrible monsters- we know that interceding for her, and breaking our own hearts before the quality of life is greatly reduced to one of complete hell for her, is the right decision.
The thing about this stage of things is that they can turn south, fast. The vet said, without medication, we were looking at weeks left with her. If things go downhill, we will move up our appointment and put her to sleep sooner.
To those of you who have sent sweet emails, and comments- thank you… Truly, thank you.
rainydayinmay.com 