Questions Answered Daily

For those who have asked: unfortunately, I didn’t make over to play croquet on Sunday- Chris had a relapse & was feeling particularly dreadful, so I ended up staying in town, doing a Costco run & fixing some soup for the invalid (he has a very loud congested cough & body aches)- I was disappointed, but I’m certain I’ll have other opportunities. I puttered around, took a nap & then a walk before picking up Sam- he had spent the night at his friend’s house & stayed for a birthday pool party, so when he got home, he fell into bed & slept all night.  

I did make it over to the nursery early Monday morning & it seems more treasures have followed me home.

Some people collect stray animals on their wanderings, others heirloom spoons or garage sale discoveries; me, I come home with more plants, which, more often then not, end up sitting in a box on the potting bench until either 1. They start to wilt, or 2. Chris sticks them in the ground (I then go behind him, digging them back up & putting them where they “belong”.) Not this time! I actually had specific plans for each selection, & tonight, after my walk, I will be replacing the planter on the front porch, refreshing the cooking herb container, adding two Gerber daisies in the front bed & a fuchsia to the fern corner. (Update: Make that tomorrow night- there are 25 mph winds out there- I'd prefer they don't get flattened to the ground right off the bat.) I do have one little stray plant that doesn’t have a particular home in mind- it is a hybrid fuchsia (bottom left side- orange/gold leaves) with the most unusual colored foliage I’ve seen; I just couldn’t resist getting it- now I just need to figure out where to plant it. Oh, yes- look at what I found while watering this morning:

What I thought were more flowers were actually unripened blueberries; I only have 5 of them, but it's a start- now I have hope for next year.

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Thank you for inquiring after dear Daisy; she is slowly improving, but has had a few rough days lately. Yesterday was particularly trying; she had to go back to the vet & stay all day, to have her glucose levels monitored, since her blood sugar is still too high. She was so upset on the way over to the vet’s that she completely soaked the bedding in her carrier. The techs gave her a bath before settling her into the kennel for the day; every two hours, they would take her out to draw the blood samples. I came to pick her up at 5:30 & when the tech took her out of her cubby, poor Daisy-understandably fearful of facing yet another needle- peed all over everyone. She cut loose like a racehorse & soaked everything in reach, then had endure another bath before getting back into the car for the ride home. The only pleasant aspect of the ordeal was Daisy was unusually affectionate with everyone last night- even allowing “Nurse Kitty” Poppy to bathe her ears & permitting Dahlia to nap next to her on the rug. The hardest part is watching the progress of this disease; never one to be particularly active, Daisy has been hampered in her movements by the onset of Diabetic Neuralgia, which affects the functioning of her hind legs. It is sad to watch her wobbling her way across the kitchen to her food bowl, appearing to slip & slide- but the vet has assured us she isn’t in any pain & once the insulin levels are established, we may see an improvement in that area. So, we continue to watch & care & pray over our companion, giving her extra attention & understanding, as we hope to receive ourselves someday when we are old & infirmed.   

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I also wanted to update you on the Ucci & Clifton families that I wrote about in "Too Young & Too Soon"; there was an article in our local paper today, highlighting how Ken Ucci, the father of the boy who died in the accident has started a chapter "Get Real Behind the Wheel". It is a safe driving program that teaches young people about responsible behavior behind the wheel- I would strongly encourage you to read the article here. I was so moved how the Ucci family has continued to embrace & support Bret- there has been no malice or anger ever expressed by these people, & Ken will be speaking on Bret's behalf at his sentencing hearing next month. 

I believe I mentioned that Bret had been awarded a scholarship to play basketball before the accident, which cost him both his legs, a portion of his vision, & ultimately his scholarship; here is an article about how a group of special education students organized a fundraiser to help Bret pay for school. I don't think it adequately expresses what a exceptional young man Bret is, but it is touching none the less, showing how accepting & forgiving the community has become.