Another Step Closer

We are another step closer to adopting our new grey.  The greyhound group that we are adopting from came out Saturday to do the home check.  They showed us how to teach our new pup the stairs.  We have an elevator, but in an emergency, he needs to know how to do the steps. She told me a technique that I had not tried before. She said when going down the stairs to put the dog on the side of the wall and put my hand through the loop of the collar.  When going up the steps, the dog is still on the side of the wall put you pull with the leash, if necessary.

We passed the home check and now they are checking our references.  We were hoping to adopt in early May but they are backlogged, so that may not happen.  I am hoping we are able to adopt early enough that we can take our new guy to the greyhound event in KS.  We will just have to wait and see how all that works out. 

I have been a little sad that Joey hasn't been sending me signs that he is okay but he may have done that on Thursday.  I was at a thrift store and saw an angel greyhound ornament that kind of looked like him.  It was the first time I have seen any greyhound items here.  Later in the day, I received the call from the greyhound group that they wanted to come out on the 6th.  Joey died on Thursday, the 6th.  Thursdays and the 6th are hard for me but when I realized the connection, I smiled.   I also found several dimes last week including on Saturday before the home check.  Can greyhounds send dimes?  I don't know but it is strange since I really use cash or coins. :-)

Ready To Adopt Again

It has been a very long winter without our wonderful boy, Joey.  He is missed every single day. I swore when he died that I would not adopt again.  I think that thought lasted just a few days but I knew I needed time before adopting again. We put in an application with a greyhound group in Houston and the process is underway.  We are hoping to bring a new boy home in May.  Yes, I am hoping for a boy but we will see who picks us.  The dogs at this group live in a kennel, so we will meet a few and decide who wants us.  I have been stalking their website since January and I have my eye on one but he may be gone before are able to adopt.  We did meet three dogs at the office visit and they were all sweet. 

We kept Joey's collars, leashes, and toys but not his bed or his raised feeder.  We repurchased those items last month and have them in place for our home check with the greyhound adoption group. We also purchased a nice car hammock.  Joey always rode in the Jeep but the Jeep is 15 now and we do not take it on long trips and we wanted the new guy to be able to ride safely in the car.  If the new guy arrives in time, he is headed to the Hearts of America Greyhound Gathering in KS in June with us. 

I decided that the new guy will carry on the tradition of writing this blog. I realize that blogs are not that popular any more, but I enjoy looking back on our adventures.  I have found that when I am really down, I come here and read about all the adventures that Jack, Scout, and Joey had and it makes me laugh and smile.  The new guy will definitely have a lot to say about his new life with us. 

We hope the new guy enjoys the beach as much as Joey did. It really was Joey's favorite place. The beach is not as much fun for me without Joey.  I actually quit going to the beach until recently because I couldn't walk on it without crying.  There were just too many memories.  I did take some of Joey's ashes to the beach, so he is there but it is still painful.  I started taking my camera to the beach recently and that has made the beach enjoyable again.  The camera gives me something to do other than think about who isn't with me. 

I have found that not having a dog is easier.  There is no one to worry about.  There is no one to walk in the rain, cold and wind.  There is no one telling me to get up.  So why do I want another dog?  My heart is empty.  My days are long.  I am lonely.  My life is easier but it is not better. 

Stay tuned... a new greyhound is coming!!!!

Joey 11/1/2007 to 12/06/2018

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of our dear Joey.  He had a wonderful summer walking on the beach and playing in the water.  He definitely loved being a beach boy.  He walked two to two and a half miles nearly every day including his last full day on this earth.  The above photo was taken just two days ago when he was being sassy asking for his beach walk.

He had not been feeling well recently and even though we still did his walks because he insisted, I knew something was wrong.  His appetite had grown small and getting him to eat was a challenge.  We hoped he was just being a senior but that was not the case.  We found out today that he was in renal failure and there was no saving him.  His numbers were extremely bad and the vet was surprised that he was even attempting to eat at all.  Joey's Dad left work so that he could say goodbye to his boy.  Joey chattered when he saw his Dad.  This excitement was rarely seen anymore.  It ended fairly quickly and Joey once again looked like the sick boy that he was.  He left his world hearing that he was loved.  I told him not to bully Scout and to send me a sign.  I told him a rainbow or a butterfly would be nice. I hope I didn't confuse him on all the final instructions. :-)  We had never had this talk before because I didn't think it was necessary.

Joey had a wonderful life with us.  He traveled the country in a motorhome for five and a half years and he loved it.  We then settled at the beach and he loved his daily walks and playing in the water.  He also loved walking the neighborhoods because of all the wonderful smells.

Joey celebrated his 11th birthday last month.  He had a nice day with a hamburger and treats.

He was a very popular boy here at our condo and there have been many people crying when they learned of his passing.  He will be missed by many.

I love you "boyfriend", "Babycakes" and "Joey Oey".  You were my constant companion for the past seven years.  I don't know how I will walk on the beach without you.  How can I eat green beans without you?  I ate KFC tonight and it was not easy because I knew you would have been asking for some.  I will miss seeing you roaching on our bed.  You were such a wonderful boy and I loved you with all my heart.

Love,
Mom

Beach Life Is The Best

Hi Friends!

Yes, I know it has been a long time since I updated all of you.  Mom heard someone say that no one really cares when a blogger doesn't update their blog and Dad agreed.  We are glad that you are not holding your breath waiting for an update, but we do hope you care a little.

Everything is fine with us.  I am still walking about 2.5 miles every day on the beach and now I lay down in the water and let the waves crash over me.  It is so much fun!

This past weekend was a holiday and the beach was packed. The news said that over a half a million people visited the beach.  Mom said they didn't all come to visit me, but I still greeted as many people as I could while on my walks.  We were really surprised that the traffic was still backed up at 10 p.m. on Sunday and people were still on the beach. We don't know what time everyone left because we went to bed.

Oh, on Monday, we saw this man trying to pull in a fish.  He was pulling and pulling and pulling.  We thought it would break his line but finally, he got it in and people cheered and gathered around him to see it.  I bet it was thrilling for him to have such a crowd around him cheering for him.  It was a huge Texas Redfish.  Dad said people are only allowed to catch one large redfish a year and the man set if free.  We hope it makes it.  Mom should have taken a photo of it, but she didn't.   A lifeguard came running up because she thought something bad had happened since the crowd around him was so large.  I am sure she was relieved that it was just a fish and not a child on the ground.

People were parked as far as we could see down Seawall Blvd on Sunday.

We still try to see the sunrise every morning but sometimes it is just too early for us.

Sometimes we see cute sand sculptures.

We have seen other things that we can't unsee.  BOL!

Condo Updates

We have made a few more updates to the condo.  Mom doesn't have a lot of storage space in the kitchen so they decided to add it to the wall.

The shelf and the spice racks were ordered from Ikea.  In true Ikea fashion, there was drama involved in the order.  The spice racks and the shelf were shipped separately and the mailing label on both had the first number of our address cut off. The FedEx man called us on the package with the spice racks and it made it to us without any problems. The shelf didn't make it.  Mom called Ikea and was on hold for 52 minutes. She then spoke to someone for 22 minutes who figured out the problem but then the line went dead and Mom didn't know if the shelf was actually coming. She email and she chatted with no results.  Finally, the FedEx person called three days later and said the driver said we didn't exist even though they had our correct address.  The shelf finally arrived.  If Ikea would have provided us with a tracking number we would have at least known a little more about what was happening.

Mom painted the spice racks and the shelf. The spice racks are teak wood and the shelf was white. The containers are from Walmart and fit perfectly on the shelf.  The containers hold flour, sugars, coffee, my treats, and different kinds of pasta.

Mom calls this Dad's wall because it is all his design. The pictures except for the center one were left here by the previous owner.  Mom painted them white. The middle one Mom bought at Hobby Lobby. The shells we collected from the beach.

We have been wanting a pair of these chairs.  However, they are $325 to $375 each.  They are made of Polywood and will last "forever".  We found out that Murdoch's, a store here, was selling their chairs because they replaced theirs with new ones. They only had one bar stool left.  We went ahead and bought it because it was only $50.  We wish they had had two, but they didn't.  We went to the furniture store here and they didn't have any white ones and we were told when they come in, the price would actually be $415.  The folks stopped at another place and were able to order one for $325 plus tax and it should be here next week.  The chairs are still crazy expensive, but they basically bought two for $400 instead of $650.  They love their chair because it is tall enough that they can see over the balcony.

Anniversary

May 24th was the folks anniversary but Dad was in Los Angeles for a meeting.  They celebrated on Saturday night.  They ate to Fisherman's Wharf with a gift card that Mom earned from mystery shopping. They wanted to watch the cruise ship leave and they had a front-row seat.

The ship was 40 minutes late leaving, so they ordered dessert.

Finally, the ship left.

Rarely Boring

It is rarely boring here.  It seems like there is always something going on around us and we are not talking about city events. The other morning someone crashed into the porta potty on the Seawall.  That same morning a transformer caught fire and we lost electric for a few hours.  Also on that same day, one of the employees went to the ER due to illness.  Mom was quite worried about him, but he is fine now.

We sit on the balcony and just watch the beachgoers.  It provides hours of entertainment and it is free.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Has A Salt Water Soul

End of March - More Condo Updates

 March has been very nice here weatherwise.  We have had many beautiful days!  We survived spring break.  It wasn't crazy with college kids.  It was full of families.  Boy, was it crowded!  We are finding that weekends are packed now that the temperatures are nice.  You should see it tonight.  It is so busy!  I enjoy walking on the beach when it is busy because it is just more exciting!

Here are a few photos of me and my Dad:

Mom and I walk every morning, but I enjoy the weekends best because both of my folks are with me.  You should see how deep I am getting in the water now.  I love it! 

We have made a few more updates to the condo.  Dad painted all the kitchen cabinets and put new knobs on them.  He added knobs to the drawers. They never had knobs, so that required a special screw because the wood was extra thick which added a few weeks to the project.  Mom got them on Amazon.  We have starfish knobs on the top cabinets and shells on the bottom cabinets and drawers.

We found the starfish hooks at Kohl's. They were half off and since they matched our kitchen, Mom said we had to buy them.

Dad added hooks to the stove so that Mom could hang her pot holders.  She hated just leaving them on the counter.

Here are more starfish holders with measuring cups and spoons on them.  We only have two real drawers, so we don't have a lot of room for things.  Mom bought the knife holder at Ikea.  She wants to get a wall spice rack. She bought this one at Goodwill for $2 but it doesn't hold all of her spices.

Here is the view from the living room.  The Home Sweet Home is from Ross.

We bought this at the Galveston Market.  It is an outdoor event that is held every few months.  It was only $5.

Today, we hung up the divider curtain between the living room and the bedroom.  We were going to put up barn doors but those would have been a challenge.  Our ceiling is steel and concrete and Dad doesn't have the tools to drill through it which means we may never get the ceiling fans we want.  Anyway, we decided to go with curtains.  We doubt we will really close them, but it gives the room a more finished look according to Mom.  Dad glued the wood to the ceiling and then he screwed the rod into it.  He says it will hold.  I hope so.  Mom is going to have to hem their curtains.  They are a little long.

Mom painted the table next to the bed. It is actually a barstool that came with the place.  We were going to just use the top of it as a shelf but decided to leave it alone in case we need it for seating some day.  Do you see the pelican on the upper shelf? Mom really likes pelicans and it seems she started collecting them accidentally. 

We have a few more paintings to hang. Mom painted the frames last week.  Dad has talked about fixing the countertops will a faux finish.  Mom said it looks like a lot of mess to her, so I am not sure if and when that will happen.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Enjoys Getting His Belly Wet In The Ocean