Where Did My Lake Go?

The lake behind our townhouse has vanished under several feet of snow! Here it is last summer with our troop of geese, and here it is this morning with the snow still falling. You can't even tell there is a lake because the snow is so deep!

What a great day to be able to stay inside and enjoy my cup of coffee and chat with my friends on the Internet. I'm so glad I'm retired and don't have to try to struggle against the elements just to make it to work. As I look out my front window, I see a moving van down the street. There is one poor fellow trying to push a sofa up a slippery driveway and he's not getting very far very fast. I have to wonder who would plan to move to Illinois in February. The news reports that all flights into Midway Airport are cancelled today and most are cancelled for tomorrow at O'Hare.

My lake and I are hiding today. Are you in this snow belt? Are you out in it or, like me, hiding?

How Beautiful!

The lovely Katherine at The Queen Speaks has bestowed the Beautiful Blogger award on Subjective Soup. I'm assuming Katherine is referring to something other than physical beauty--you know, beauty of soul, spirit, or shoes. Just glancing at Katherine's rendition of what I assume is herself in her widget, I can see why she received an award for beauty. Now there's a hair-do!

Anyway, I'm delighted to receive this award from Katherine and will follow her rules and list seven interesting things about myself and then pass said award on to seven other beautiful bloggers (or at least beautiful from what I can tell from their widgets or online profile photos).

My Interesting Stuff:

1. I'm probably the only person in the United States NOT watching the Super Bowl today.

2. I successfully completed the test to receive my third-class radio operator's license.

3. As a child, my hobby was rock collecting.

4. I have trouble completing the crossword puzzle in TV Guide each week.

5. When it comes to popcorn, I only quit when I reach the last kernel, not when I'm full.

6. I have a serious crush on Mo Rocca.

7. I can do 100 push-ups (the lady version on the knees).

Passing the Beautiful Blogger Award on to the following beautiful bloggers:

1. Jo at Life's Perfect Pictures

2. Stephen at The Third Uncle

3. Beruang at Beruang Rebus

4. Arnold at Ba-Bootie

5. Jeni Aurora at American in France

6. Ronald at Metrogadfly Symbolic Resources and Image Links

7. Janicephil at My Birds' Eye View

Congrats to all!

Pacemaker Update

My Mom got a pacemaker last week. The doctor felt she need one because she had a slow heart beat and he said it would help prevent her from passing out and possibly breaking a hip. Of course, Mom has never passed out in her life--but there's a first time for everything.

On Wednesday, Mom suddenly fainted while playing Bingo with her buddies at her assisted living complex. The ambulance was called and it took them a while to resuscitate her. She was admitted to the hospital where she remains. They have run every test in the book and they have all come back negative.

I can't help but wonder if the pacemaker contributed to her fainting spell. The medical folks don't think it did. What do you think?

Remembering Coquette

Our sweet little Pomeranian Coquette died on Monday. She was fifteen and a half years old. Her passing was a total shock to us. On Sunday she was fine—her usual lively, energetic self. On Monday morning she was lying lethargic on the kitchen floor, unable to move, eat, or drink. When we took her to the vet, her temperature was very low, her heart beat very high, and her gums very pale—all signs of total system failure. The vet said there was really nothing we could do except try to alleviate her pain. She was a very old dog and sometimes this happened.

I remember when we first got Coquette. When we bought our first home almost sixteen years ago, the first thing I wanted to do was get a dog. After living in rental units for most of my life, I was anxious to have a pet. My husband Milt was not so keen on getting a dog. I remember finding an ad for Pomeranian puppies in the local classified sections and my daughter and I bringing Coquette home in a box in the car many years ago.

Coquette soon made herself at home in our kitchen which we barricaded off for her home. It was soon apparent that Coquette didn’t like our kitchen linoleum because one day when she was still a puppy, we arrived home to discover that she had ripped up much of the flooring. It’s a good thing I hated that linoleum and we were able to quickly replace it with a sturdier tile. Even so, Coquette let us know in no uncertain terms that she was a force to be reckoned with in our family.

Coquette quickly became a member of our family. Although my husband Milt never really wanted a dog and told me I’d be the one to take care of her, Coquette had other ideas. She soon learned to adore Milt, following him around the house and plopping herself at his feet wherever he sat—paws skyward, begging for a tummy scratch. Milt begrudgingly responded and soon he was hooked. Over the years the two of them bonded completely.

I was always amazed how polite and courteous Coquette could be—particularly when it was really necessary. Yes, she was loud and barked incessantly when she wanted something—like her favorite biscuit--or when she saw something important go by the front window—like a leaf. However, when the chips were down, she could really behave

For example, when we had to evacuate our home during hurricane Lilly, and were trying to find a hotel room because our car had broken down and we were miles away from home, Coquette came through for us. I remember standing at a hotel check-in desk with Coquette in my arms, trying to explain to the clerk that I was sure she would behave herself. Coquette seemed to know how important it was that she win over that clerk, and she did. Her smiling face, her little pink tongue, and her wagging tail—all said, “I’ll be good. I promise.” And she was true to her promise.. Every time we traveled with Coquette, she always was a little lady—very polite, quiet, and well behaved.

I could regale you with many stories about Coquette. Milt and I have been reliving many of our favorite stories over the last few days. Unfortunately, whenever we start to talk about her, we both start crying. We both loved her—a lot.

We want to find a good way to remember Coquette. One thing we plan to do is take some of the many digital photographs that we have of her, and create a framed collage that we can display in our home. I don't know anything about turning digital photos into regular photos. If any of you know how I might go about doing this, or if you have any suggestions about how I might appropriately memorialize Coquette I would love to hear from you.