Category: Pets

Closed

Our elderly black lab Ellie stands in the hallway of our house in Portland, Oregon

We are homeowners no more.

Our house in Portland closed today, I will always love that old house but I’m glad the selling process is over. Here’s hoping its new family will love it as we did, and that when we are ready to buy a house here in Arizona we will be as happy. I took this picture of Ellie in the hallway outside my office back in February as I walked the path that would lead us from Oregon, with one job offer in hand and less than two days away from flying to interview in Arizona and getting the offer that brought us here.

One downside to the old house for our old pup was that to the right of her are stairs leading up to our bedroom. She couldn’t navigate the stairs very well in her elderly years (she could go up just fine but coming down could be a challenge), so we had to block off the stairs to keep her from following us upstairs to bed. She couldn’t go downstairs to the basement where my wife’s office was, so she spent her days with me on the main floor and her nights asleep in one of her beds, waiting for us to be reunited.

We have a lovely rental home here and Ellie is delighted that it is only one story. She can follow us to bed and follow us to our offices. And follow she does, follow, follow, follow, a black shadow follows you everywhere you go. She’s laying beside my couch now, she’ll follow me to bed when it’s time. I wish everyone could know the love of such a sweet dog, to be looked at as lovingly every day when they get up in the morning and when they come home at night. Thankfully she is still doing well for her age, I pray it continues as every day with our dear Ellie is a blessing, no matter the location.

I’m Not the Only One Fascinated by Arizona’s Wildlife

Our tortoiseshell cat Trixie watches wildlife in our backyard through the sliding glass door

Trixie is rather obsessed by the wildlife in the backyard of our rental house and is often joined by brother Boo at the sliding glass door as they watch the doves, quail, finches, woodpeckers, rabbits, lizards, and the like. I can’t help but think of Emma as I watch them and wonder what she would have made of all this, I could almost identify what bird had flown into our yard in Portland by the nature of her chirps.

Tired

Evening sunlight falls across our cat Sam as he sleeps at the top of the cat tree on March 19, 2018. Original: _DSC4575.ARW

The past number of months have worn me out. Sometimes physically, sometimes mentally, often both. That hasn’t changed in Arizona, although now I’m more often tired for positive reasons. It hasn’t helped that I’ve been getting up at 4 a.m. to go hiking on my days off, but mentally it has helped tremendously. The exercise has been good for me too.

I am certainly tired of filling out a seemingly endless stream of paperwork. Every time I think I’m through the worst of it another wave follows. The constant need to make decisions has at least slowed dramatically and life has begun to take on a rhythm. Mentally I’m more upbeat than I’ve been in a long time, even if I’m falling asleep not long after dinner.

For all the stress of the past half year, I think every day about how blessed I am. I know many are not so fortunate. I had a wonderful time on the trails this morning and came home and spent one-on-one time with each of the pets. Then my wife and I were off to get some paperwork notarized and sent off, then it was back home to sort through some pictures. Now as the light fades I think I’ll go for a quick swim.

Maybe tonight I’ll sleep like Samwise.