Chatter Box II (Branson, Northwoods, California: entertainment, dogs, hunting)

[Lake Junkie]

Originally Posted by Marie'sBees

Mistake #1: I didn't build a fence when I moved here.

It's been 14 years since my Nicky got killed by a car after I moved into Springfield...on the heels of the most painful divorce ever. I still dream about him. I've beat myself up for 14 years for not building a fence.

My heart breaks for you.

(((((((((())))))))))

[LindiJ]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss and your illness. My heart breaks for loss of your little pup. I don't have a pet of my own but my GD has a little Shih Zu that lives with us right now and I get upset just thinking of anything happening to him.

Try to forgive yourself. You did not do anything wrong. You made the best choices you could when you were in the moment and second guessing you choices will not help you at all.

Take care of yourself.

[ShadowCaver]

Marie'sPollenGatherers - all can say is that honoured that you found my warpeded humour funny . However, I am concerned, somewhat seriously here though... I am worried that your doc may have desired to hunt me down, due to his fine handiwork almost being tore; the stitches that durn near almost got busted out... wow,,, imagine what a mess that would be!

It is indeed terrible to lose a beloved fur ball - had a Heinz 57 mongrel that was my companion through Junior and High School, and first part of college - photos of her still toss me back some. The first black lab, Shanna, took me over 3 months to get out of the funk of losing her [~11 years, 'old' age, on SuperBowl weekend '97]. Can honestly say when its time for this current black mutt Shadow to romp in the neverending fields over the hills, diggin and pouncin for moles and what not, will be basket case then too. Yet, the joy and bright eyes and companionship they bring, albeit not long enough, makes a person feel special with that bond - where this four-legged creature with the lapping tongue considers you their bestest friend too... After Shanna passed, even though I fought it, best thing, for me, to do was to (slowly) start plopping about the yard w/ another hound.

Sorry for the long-windedness here - but, as a dog guy, I relate to what you are feeling. Please accept this virtual *hug* from this hillbilly...

Now, as to the rest... PLEASE realize that ya better get better, or we will convene a posse and drag your tail out and about - ya done did a silly manner of weight loss [tossing one of your kidneys like that,,, ], now its time to realize sun will arise, and so shall you, and to then enjoy another day - as each and every one of 'em are special; its up to each of us in our own goofy way to muddle through, not taking nothin' for granted, and to thereby then explore, dream, and enjoy all that we can around us.

Please, feel free [sidebar: why does someone have to "feel free" to do something,,, what, like its gonna cost ya otherwise? Hmmmm,,, oh,,, maybe that's why someone tosses their two cents into a conversation at times,,, hmmmm...] to post, DM, whatever - anytime - our 'ears' are always here to listen. OK? Now, get yourself to healing, and I esp. would love to see some photos of this handiwork and mods and improvements ya are doing on your house.

Hobbes

[Northwoods Voyager]

Marie's Bees, just now had time to read your post and extend my deepest sympathy to you. And to thank you for your well wishes for me. (Yep, I am recovering pretty good, so far.)

I think you gave MoMo a wonderful life. Without that special beginning what would he have had? Please don't blame yourself. There is nothing that you can do to change what has happened. When my 17+ year old 'friend' left me, I asked the vet why I felt so horrible and his answer was that losing a pet was like losing a family member and just as hard to get over. When my step-son gave me a photo that he had taken of my 'baby', I had to leave the room for awhile. Didn't want everyone to see my tears. It hurts. I know. Now you need to heal yourself and perhaps think about another little friend to give all that love you have so share. Bless you and take care.

[Marie'sBees]

Thanks so much for hearing me out and never once implying "Get over it! It's just a dog!". Then again, I never expected that from anyone on this forum. Wonderful, supportive people, always.

I have adopted a little kitty, four weeks old, abandoned at the local grocery store. The only reason I noticed it is because it climbed up my leg. Sure wish I had been wearing pants! And because I know what some of you smart alec's (you know who you are!) will do with that statement, I would like to say that I was wearing a skirt.

I don't know how to post pictures, but if you were to do a google search for "orange kitten" it's the first picture that shows up. Long hair, blue eyes and whiskers everywhere. Come to think of it, that sounds an awful lot like my first boyfriend. He looks like a "Sebastian" to me. The kitty, not the boyfriend.

I have taken "before" pictures of my house, and as soon as things get a little easier around here I will do my best to post them.

One day I'm going to make a concerted effort to stay on this board all day long and rep every single post I come across. Maybe then I'll get out of this "rep jail" I've been in the past few months.

Shadowcaver I refuse to read your post until it no longer hurts me physically to laugh.

I'll finish as I started, with hugs all around.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by Marie'sBees

Hello everyone! I hope you'll all bear with me, as I just need to put this "out there" so maybe I can let it go, at least a little.

It's been a difficult month or so for me, and I'll tell you what I've learned from my mistakes.

Mistake #1: I didn't build a fence when I moved here. I had a beautiful Shi-poo that I initially named MO, the abbreviation of the state I wanted to move back to. Eventually though, he became MoMo. MoMo's mother died when he was only 8 days old, and though the breeder and everyone else told me that I should just let him go, I could not and decided to raise him myself. For the next month or so I barely slept, feeding him at all hours and trying to keep him warm usually by sharing my body heat with him. Pretty much the same routine as when my children were born. What I got in return was a creature that adored me; he wasn't just happy to see me, he was OVERJOYED. The feeling was mutual.

August 20th my daughter took MoMo outside and the next thing I know I heard what sounded like Momo screaming, for want of a better word. He had been hit by a car. He didn't show any outward signs of being hurt, but with the screaming and writhing I knew he was seriously injured. I took him to my car and put him in the front seat, then ran back to the house to get my wallet. It took less than 2 minutes, yet when I got back to the car he was dead.

As most of you know, I bought an older house, and have been fixing it up little by little. I had wanted to put up a fence so that MoMo couldn't get out of the yard, but since he was an indoor dog I decided to put the $4,000 the fence would have cost me toward the house. I can only hope and pray that I will never make another mistake that I regret so much as that one. I am devastated by the loss of MoMo.

Mistake # 2: I didn't pay attention to the warning signs my body was giving me. Shortly after MoMo died I started getting searing pains in the right middle part of my back. I knew what they meant as I have had many severe kidney infections in the past. But since I wasn't running a fever which signals the infection, I decided against going to the doctor. I have no insurance, so once again I decided to save the money for the house. WRONG. After about a week I woke up with a fever of 106. I went into kidney failure. In the end, I lost my right kidney.

I have no doubt that had I not been so devastated and depressed about MoMo, I probably would have gone to the doctor immediately. That's what depression does, it distorts your thinking and makes you not care about things as you should. I am not healing physically as I should be; my body has always had an incredible ability to heal itself prior to this, so both my doctor and I think that it is my grief that's keeping me from getting better. So I'm just putting it all into words. Thank you for listening.

mrschillicook I have a mammogram scheduled in three weeks; I have kept you in my prayers.
kshe95girl I hope you are getting better, and hopefully we can all meet up one day.
NorthwoodsVoyager I'm glad to hear that you are on the mend.
NorthbayEric how about NorthMOEric when you get out here? (NorthMOEric is a registered tm of Marie'sBees Inc. All rights reserved)
Boof - raising my glass to you in solidarity and grief.
Shadowcaver the only time I have laughed out loud over the past month and a half was when I read your post that Northwoodsvoyager had her leg amputated. Taken out of context that sounds horrible, but it almost made me bust my stitches.

And last but not least, mrsgenealogy, you have your place secured in Heaven. I'm certain of it. Thank you.

Marie, my heart is breaking for you! Something like that happened to me when we had to move from Sainte Genevieve to Poplar Bluff, I totally understand how you feel.
I have grieved for my Sham for 28 years, we didnt have a fence either.
I just wanted you to know that I share in your grief over your beloved pet, and it does get better.

[r8rfan]

Hi all.
I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying our beautiful weather here in our great state. Is there any better time of the year? Except of course spring time! I still prefer fall. The cooler temps and less humidity and the beautiful colors which are just starting to come out here. And of course my favorite, bowhunting!

I finally got to get out last Sunday. Got to my stand at 4:00 p.m. By 4:45 I had a shot. Got a nice sized doe. Was a quick hunt, but I'm not complaining! We now have some of the best meat ever in the freezer.

Anyone watching the Mizzou game tonight? Should be a good one. Ok state can put up some big numbers. The Tigers are going to have to score a lot to beat them. And they will!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

[jdslady]

Great pic r8rfan, saw one of those run across the road last night on my way "home" on Bear Creek Rd. Kids have seen them on our property and we've seen lots of deer tracks. Yep, we finally bought a place up in Missouri. It's about 20 mins north of Branson on 10 acres.

[Northwoods Voyager]

Beautiful picture r8rfan...never have tried bow hunting. Only use my Marlin 30-30. Heavy gun, but accurate!

jdslady...Wonderful news about your new home...Moving soon???

[jdslady]

We are spending more time up there now than we are down here. We have to get this place in Ark ready to go on the market, hopefully will have it done in the next few weeks. Our new house in north of Branson about 20 mins, on a little over 10 acres. We have an awesome view from our hilltop. Posted a picture a few ago on the Missouri picture thread of the fog Saturday morning. Kinda makes getting up early worth our time, the view from our deck is awesome !!!!!!!!

Lake Junkie...... we made our first improvement this weekend......... dh and the boys built a storage building !!