Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

October 8, 2019

Eulogy of Tilly, My Best Friend

Tilly passed into Eternity today, early in the morning. We knew he wasn’t quite right; he was slower in the last three days. I suspected he was on his way out. At least he did not suffer like Pumpkin, one grey, sweet cat who got along with everyone. He had moaned and groaned for at least two days. We tried our best to get him into the vet, but they could not fit him in.

So, at least Tilla did not suffer. I loved Tilla. He revered and adored me and he was the most special and intelligent dog I ever had. He had his trials, required two knee surgeries but the surgeon did a good job. It wasn’t all that surprising this morning, when I was somewhere else and called my wife and she told me he died. I cried sotly throughout the conversatio,

He always had his own bed alongside my bed, with a pillow to lay his head on and mats to make him comfortable.

When I called this morning I was afraid of the news, and cried for about two minutes. He treated me well, and I did, particularly in the beginning, give him many belly rubs. He lived a full life for a large dog, about 14 years, which was a long time for a dog his size. He was athletic. When I called his sister and him in from the yard, Cocoa could be half way back and he would run at a gallop and pass her. He was the only dog that learned to pop the screen door to get out by himself.

He had some funny habits, like locking himself up in the bathroom. And in the end, he did it because he couldn’t tolerate any loud voices from us when we fought. And if there was really heavy tension he of course felt it and wouldn’t even come in from the yard until the tension left. He was very sensitive.

I will miss him terribly. He was one smart, athletic dog. I have written about him a few times in this blog before. He was openly affectionate, more so than any dog I had. At least he’s free to run in the meadows Upstairs with all his buddies.

Goodbye, Tilla, I will miss you terribly.

Love,
Siggy

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March 31st, 2018
Siggy

They never pretend to feign emotion. Each dog I have has a soul and personality. I find it comforting when I go into my den in the morning and usually one my three dogs  sits a few feet away from me. All that is very comforting. My animals do not care if do not have a degree. The animals you love, love you back, but each is his/her own way. I did not have a pet growing up. I now feel blessed with seven cats and three dogs. Pax, Tilla’s father, died a few years ago: we kept two of  his kids. Sweetie our dog rescue is their Mom and  Sweetie, still defers to her two pups, Coco and Tilla, even though it has been a long time since she gave birth to them. I just love petting all my animals and treating each one individually, for each animal has their own personality and I have to respect that.  They are gifts to me.  It is all serendipity!

Tags: Atilla, Coco, each pet has their own personality, each pet has to be treated differently, love and animals, my three dogs, Sweeetie
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All you can do is mine who you are.  As a writer that is all you can do.  You are who you are.  And that is where your get your material to write.  We are all given a tiny piece of the universe.  It is small but that is what you got to work with.  We all think a little differently.  Each person is a “snowflake” and that is what we have to mine as a writer.  We can not portray ourselves as we are not.  Then it comes across as being phony.  We are ourselves for better or worse.

Tags: each person is a "snowflake", material to write, we are ourselves, writer, writing
Posted in God, life, wisdom, writing, your job/mission/profession | No Comments »

Spring is coming, Spring is coming !!! I am waiting for today and tomorrow to end. Then we get five days of Spring-like weather. My crocuses have eleven buds, and the daffodils are getting higher and higher. I know the cold weather this year was short, but I still remember those ice cold days we had. Spring is less than two weeks away, and I can’t wait for it to come.

Tags: cold weather, crocuses, daffodils, flowers, spring, spring is coming
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Some daffodils were poking their heads under the tree. This was a harbinger of spring. I checked the bed of primrose–no flowers yet.

Tags: advent of Spring, daffodils, flowers, harbinger of Spring, primrose, spring
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Winter is a week in. Still no extended freezes. An abnormally warm Fall. That means Spring might come sooner unless we get cold in the early Spring. The countdown has begun (to Spring). I’d hibernate but I don’t have that option.

Tags: abnormally warm Fall, countdown to Spring, countdown to spring has begun, Fall, hibernation, seasons, spring, winter
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‘Home is where they have to take you in.’ I am not sure if I got this quote verbatim, attributed to the famous poet Robert Frost. I thought about it for awhile. It is from our family we learn grace. We mess up badly and it is, often, our family that forgives us when we return home. No matter how badly I messed up I can return home and start afresh. Grace is a gift. There is no other way to put it. I don’t deserve it. Every person is flawed and makes mistakes. And we return home. No matter what we did.

Tags: every person is flawed, every person makes mistakes, forgiveness, God, grace is a gift, home, our family, return home, Robert Frost, start afresh, we learn grace
Posted in balance, children, God, knowledge&learning, life, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

My wife spotted the plant from the bathroom window. I had to go outside to inspect it more closely. She brought it to my attention. The plant lay below the window and had delicate purple bells almost like another flower we had in another part of the yard except the other one was white and these purple flowers shaped in a bell were longer although about the same width. Another surprise that day. Life is full of little surprises and all you have to do is pay attention. How that flower got there I will never know. Serendipity!

Tags: flowers, life, life is full of little surprises, little surprises, my wife, pay attention, plants, serendipity
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Life, sometimes, is composed of small surprises. I found a frozen bagel in the freezer I forgot I had and was glad to defrost it and eat it toasted dabbed with some butter. It was a real treat. A little surprise yesterday. Let us see what the next one will be.

Tags: bagel with butter, life, small surprises
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Only by grace both of us are passionate about listening to music. I share the best music I know and come across with her. And that is a gift being able to do that. In the beginning I opened a whole lot of worlds to her: British music and other kinds. I never forget the emotional impact of any piece of music. And I share that music with her easily. And that is only by grace.

Tags: British music, emotional impact of music, God, music, my wife, only by grace, share music
Posted in God, knowledge&learning, local, love, marriage, music, time | No Comments »

In the beginning of our marriage every morning I would play this Nicole Nordeman CD. She asked me to play the music today and memories came flooding back. Everything was new between us then. I like to say we are an old married couple but we are not–twelve years I think. Every day is still another discovery. I know she is a gift and only here by serendipity. The music reminded me of that fact.

Tags: everything was new then, God, marriage, married couple, memories, music, my wife, Nicole Nordeman, serendipity, she is a gift
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It is a gift we have an activity we both enjoy regularly. We have a fierce Scrabble Rivalry. And sometimes I win. And sometimes she wins. Neither of us get bored for each game is different. We play almost every night. I don’t take that activity for granted. It is a gift to both of us. I am amazed the inventor of Scrabble thought out this game so well. It is always challenging. A lot of our games go down to the last move or two. Lopsided scores happen less frequently.

Tags: activity we both enjoy, each game is different, my wife, Scrabble, scrabble rivalry
Posted in God, local, marriage, time | No Comments »