Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Goodbye and Hello



Last week was one of extreme contrasts, to say the least. Early in the week we had the trauma of saying goodbye to one of our old dogs, Kelly. She had a day and night of seizures, followed by the loss of any ability to balance herself or stand. Although we couldn't be sure of the cause without extensive testing, given her age of 15 and the vet's opinion, we had to let her go. We adopted her from the pound when she was about a year old, just after my son Andy's 11th birthday. He used to joke that she was his "high maintenance pillow". Kelly was a good companion, and she will be greatly missed.

On a much happier note, right after that I left for a few days for San Francisco to visit my son and his girlfriend Blair. I got a good package deal from Expedia, so I booked a long weekend for a visit. I am still clomping around in my heavy boot, which was a little inconvenient for traveling, but it was worth it to make the trip. I still was able to use mass transit most of the time, and when I got too tired to walk any more it was easy to get a cab.

The city is always so exciting. I don't think I would want to live in an urban environment now, but I love to visit and take it all in. I enjoyed seeing Andy's new apartment, too. It's tiny and expensive, but oh what views! We did some of the usual "tourist" things, but mostly we ate good food, drank some organic sulfite free wine, and talked and talked and talked.
I also got to spend some more time with Blair, and she is a lovely, sweet and thoughtful girl. Lastly, to make this at least a little bit quilt related, I spent time browsing through this store. Every kind of fabric you can imagine is there, including things like high end imported Italian silk. I just enjoyed taking it all in. The top floor has remnants, and I did find a few little treasures that may find a purpose one day. The notions floor also yielded a few affordable goodies. All in all, a very enjoyable time. Andy thought it was pretty funny that while his visiting friends are excited by the close proximity of pubs and clubs, his mom was ecstatic over finding a huge fabric store to explore.
Posted by Picasa

4 comments:

Debra Dixon said...

It's always sad to say goodbye to our pets. It sounds like Kelly had the same condition as our Tasha when she died in late January. Dogs just don't last forever although 15 years is pretty close to forever in dogyears.

The trip to the city sounds wonderful and it's always nice to get to know your son's squeeze. It could come in handy someday!

Rian said...

So sorry to hear the news of your beloved Kelly. They really do leave pawprints on our hearts.

I have a little jaunt to SF coming up in June and I'll try to take in Britex. After I drop my son off at the airport, of course...

Helen said...

If I ever get to the States this is one shop that will definitely be on my list!

Anonymous said...

Hello, first time I've visited your site - so sorry to hear about your pet, it is always sad.

In Sept last year I visited the US and went to Britex with my daughter (I took my 26 yo son and 29 yo daughter for my 5oth birthday) and bought some beautiful material for my daughter that I'm too scared to cut!!! How funny I found that link tonight.

regards

Debi - Sydney, Australia (greenstone177@hotmail.com)