little chocolate bella

We lost our younger lab, Bella, over the weekend.

It turned out she didn't have cancer but rather

one of the cruelest infections I've ever seen.

It just wouldn't respond to any treatment

and she was losing the ability to breathe.

She was only eight years old.

She was the most affectionate, loving pup we've ever had.

Things just aren't the same around here without her.

She and my husband had the deepest bond of all.

He's a little lost without her constantly by his side.

Our son understands but he's been quiet.

Our older lab, Ballou, has been laying on Bella's blanket.

Our newest puppy, Maisy, keeps going outside to look for her.

It's crazy how deeply our hearts can ache over the

loss of a beloved pet.

favorite things part 1

For years, I collected little salt and pepper shakers.  Why?  I have no idea but for some reason I liked them.  I only liked the ones that were old and made of glass, silver or aluminum.  I also would only buy sets under $10.00; preferably under $5.00.  Believe or not, for years I found a lot of cute little sets for just a few bucks.  Slowly, the prices began to rise and my fascination began to decline.  I no longer add to my collection but the ones I do have are among some of my favorite things.  I keep my most favorite ones in an old medicine cabinet I found at an antique mall.  The rest remained in a box for awhile until I saw an idea in a magazine (it had to be Country Living or Country Home since those were the only magazines I read for many years).  Their idea was to use a large old jar to hold a collection of things.  Well, I had a couple of old large jars so I picked one and put the rest of my salt and pepper shakers in it.  It looks pretty good.  It sparkles a bit when the sun hits it which is kind of nice although I'm not really much of a "sparkle" person. The occasional natural little sparkle is great but too much sparkle just isn't my thing :)   

Below are my grandfather's keys.  I never met him.  He was born in the late 1800's and died in the 1930's.  He was 50 years old when my father was born and died when my dad was three.  I keep his key chain hanging under my fireplace mantel.  That's where my parents kept it in their house so it's as good of a place as any.  Let's call that a tradition.  I love a good tradition.  The interesting thing about this set of keys is that there is a little metal tag on them.  I couldn't get a great picture of it where the writing was clear but it says "if you find these keys, please return them....and get a reward".  Then, it gives the address to return them to along with my grandfather's last name "Leonard".  Now, I don't know for sure but I'm guessing that one of these keys is a house key.  By the way, the date on the tag is 1930.  I guess homes were a little safer and people a little more trustworthy back then. 

still working on those photography skills

Lastly, here are pictures of our puppies.  They are a huge part of our family.  Since we only have a son, we refer to them as "our girls."  We got our first one, Ballou, in 2002 as my anniversary present to my husband.  His dream dog had always been a chocolate lab.  I snuck (is that a word?) a few bucks out each month for several months to save for her so he wouldn't notice a big hunk of money gone from our account.  She is now 7 1/2 years old and the best behaved little lab in the world.  Our other one is Bella.  We got her for free (she was about 2 months old) when a family with very young children thought she was little too much to handle.  She's an interesting little dog with a unique personality.  She's now 4 years old. 

Ballou

Bella

(all photos by my neighbor Kim because she takes better pics than I do)