Petunia Tulip Julep June 27, 2007-July 8, 2018

My darling Petunia died unexpectedly at home on Sunday. 

She had pulmonary hypertension that resulted in fainting spells since May. We went to our regular vet as well as the University of Florida's vet school to see a cardiologist. Pulmonary hypertension is a symptom of something else, something we weren't able to figure out yet. I don't know if this is what took her life or if it was the primary disease. It wasn't supposed to be fatal. I can't explain it. I don't understand it. I never will. 

Other than the fainting episodes, she was her normal, perky self. Her birthday was just a few weeks before and she ate her birthday bacon like a true pug. 

Tallulah and I are left to mourn her. Tallulah is coping better than I expected since my girls had never been separated for more than a night. She does know that Petunia is gone. Our meal time ritual was that the girls went into their crates, I popped in the bowls and latched the doors. Once both were finished, I would open the crates. They would race to the other's crate to make sure no morsel was left. Sunday night, I opened Tallulah's crate and she didn't race to Petunia's crate. She walked around the ottoman, saw the empty crate and just stood there for a minute. 

I've been going through pictures for this post and so many of them are of both girls. My heart is breaking for me and for Tallulah. Her partner in crime is gone. 

2007

2018

I will miss her for the rest of my life. She was my smiley pug. She was on my lap or shoulder whenever she could be. She was my social pug who greeted strangers while Tallulah hid behind my legs. I loved this pug and her sister so much. It hurts so much that she is gone. 

Post-Irma post

Wow, it's been a long couple of weeks. First, Harvey hit Texas. Our grandparents live in Texas, not far from Corpus Christi. Fortunately, they were out of town when it hit. Their house did not have any damage although they lost power and had to toss everything in the fridge and freezer. So they were blessed. 

As Harvey was destroying Texas, we started to ramp up our emergency preparations. It was a horrible reminder. Our house in Norfolk finally sold and closed the last week of August. That gave us the financial cushion to buy things we couldn't afford before. 

Then Irma became more of a problem for Florida. 

Mom is a government employee and part of the FEMA team for documenting damage. That means she couldn't evacuate before the storm. So we prepped for a week without power and water. 

As Irma kept shifting west, storm surge flooding became more of a danger. So mom packed bags in case we had to leave our duplex due to flooding. 

Then it seemed like we were going to be on the western side of the eye which is the bad side. Then mom had to prep a safe room for us. Our safe room was the master bathroom. It was the most interior room and had no windows. It was small. From the information we had, it seemed like we would be in that bathroom for several hours. Mom did her best to figure out what we would need to be comfortable and safe for that long. 

Pug crates stacked in the shower. Litter box on top to keep it away from the pugs.

Kitty carrier on the other side of the shower. She didn't want to be in it, but it was there for when we needed it.

Here we all are on the floor. Mom used the cushions from the love seat plus the chaise lounge cushion  to make a soft spot to sit. We had several pillows and blankets for more cushion. 

We had water, potty pads, distraction chews, calming meds (Rescue Remedy, Sileo and Feliway spray), snacks for mom. Laptop, phone, crank radio, lantern. Plus a bunch more stuff. 

Fortunately, we were only in there for five hours. 

It could have been a lot worse for us. God definitely had his hand over us. More than 70% of our county lost power. Our little neighborhood looked like an island of light surrounded by darkness last night. We can hear generators going all around us. We are incredibly blessed to have never lost power or internet. The internet is almost as important as other utilities now because it is how we communicate and get information. It's not just blogs and funny videos. It's how we know what is going on outside our doors, how we get messages to friends and family. 

We were pretty prepared for this, more than most people we know who have lived in Florida for years. Even so, we learned some lessons on what to do, what not to do, what else we need to prepare. 

If you are not prepared for an emergency in your house, please make a plan. It will be overwhelming at first, but you have to start somewhere. You do not want to be in a situation like thousands of people are here. Post-Katrina, emergency managers got a lot smarter about pets, but as pet people, we still need to be better prepared ourselves. Shelters give you just that, shelter. A roof over your head. They aren't designed for comfort. It's up to us to make things comfortable for ourselves. It's possible, if we plan ahead. 

Although we aren't experts in emergency management, if anyone wants a post or two on how to plan for emergencies, please comment. We are happy to walk through our plans, supply lists, to-do lists with you and answer questions.

We're ok

will do a longer post later, but we are ok. No damage to the duplex.

Irma update

SFP mom at the keyboard. 

I'm not going to lie or put on a brave front. I am scared. As Irma shifts west, it looks like we are right in the path of some of the worst part. I'm scared for me and the pugs and kitty. I'm more scared for what will happen to the rest of the county and the state. There are so many mobile homes here. More than I've ever seen anywhere I've lived. And I've lived all over the south. 

I thank God that many people have evacuated. That will certainly reduce casualties. 

When the winds get dangerous, we'll be hunkered down in the bathroom. It's the most interior room and has no windows. I'm moving the crates into the shower. It will not be fun, crammed into a small room with two pugs and a cat, but it's the safest space for us. 

I may not be able to update the blog as I'd hoped. I've registered with the Red Cross, Safe and Well. I will update that first. To see my message, click the Search Registrants button. Put in Allyzabethe Ramsey and either my phone number or address. I've kept my 757 phone number so you can use that or 4812 27th St W Bradenton address. 

https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php

I am doing my best to not freak out. One, panicking never helps. Two, the more anxiety I have, the more anxious the pugs and kitty will be. Three, I still have a lot of little things to do before tomorrow when the winds are expected to get bad. I'm going to try to focus on getting stuff done and turn off the news. 

God help us all.

Irma :(

So, you know we moved to Florida. And long time readers know that Mom is a nerd about being prepared for emergencies. Even though we've only been here seven months, we are ready for Irma to show up. 

We have a generator, portable air conditioner, camp stove and propane, camping coffee pot, food, water jugs (32 gallon capacity), manual can opener, etc. We are as ready as we can possibly be. 

Mom works for the local government which means we don't get to evacuate normally. Just like Norfolk. However, we are ready to leave town if we have to. 

We're in Bradenton, where the red squiggle is. If you're watching TV and see Tampa, look south and that's where we are. 

We will do our best to update the blog throughout the week and after the storm passes. Paws crossed we don't lose internet!

Seriously though, please pray and send good juju for all of Florida. 

It's highly unlikely that we won't see some kind of bad weather from this. How much and how bad remains to be seen. We're praying that it isn't as bad as it could be. 

Moving In

Gosh, it's been a month since our last post! Time is just zooming on. 

This is the only Before picture. This is our living/dining room before we moved in. We have a little patio out those sliding glass doors. 

Now comes the boxes. 

The wall to the left is the kitchen. This is on the opposite side of the room from the patio.

Look, the pile shrank a little!

The "guest" room or storage for now.

Did we mention the boxes?

This is our bedroom. See the mattresses? 

More boxes

These were taken two days after we moved in. Slowly unpacking.

Our patio is on the western side of the house so it gets ALL the afternoon sun. 

Mom put up a pop up tent for some shade. 

The patio is completely fenced in which is good.

It's been a challenge to fit our stuff in this house, that's for sure. Although we donated and sold and gave away oodles of stuff, it's still been tricky to find a place for the stuff we kept. Mom would really love one more room, but this will have to do for now. 

Honestly, after two months, we still aren't completely moved in. However, we won't unpack every box anyway. The plan is to sell our Norfolk house, rent for a year then buy a place. So no need to unpack the Christmas china when we'd just have to pack it back up again. Besides that, the china cabinet is too full of the stuff that won't fit in the kitchen to hold the Christmas dishes. 

Eventually, she'll sort through all the remaining boxes and decide what can stay packed. We need to get the room set up as a guest room because we know we will be having guests before the year is over. Plus, mom really wants to start sewing again. She's got to find a place to put all the stuff first!

Next time (hopefully not a month later), we'll show you the Sarasota Small Dog Meet up!

Our journey begins

After a chaotic six weeks of packing and cleaning and purging and more packing, we left Virginia on January 28. Mom cried as she said goodbye to the house. She'd been there for 12 years. Many pets had come and gone in that house. We were raised in that house for 9 years. If mom could have moved the house with us, she would have.

All our stuff was crammed into this trailer. It was packed up and picked up on January 23, almost a week before we left. Mom had an air mattress and coffee pot, stuff she could pack in the car. It was a fun week (not really). The trailer is 28' long, but we only used 17'.

Our house was about 1900 square feet, plus a mechanical room and a big shed and a huge yard. Our rental is 1000 sf with a 10'x10' fenced patio and a teeny patch of grass. We had to get to rid of so much stuff. Mom made big donations to Dress for Success and Eggleston Services (local non-profit) plus many trips to the dump. Some of the stuff we were sad to let to, but mom was thrilled to donate all her heavy sweaters and coats! 

So that Saturday, we left. Two pugs, one kitty and one human, off to a new adventure! 

We stayed outside of Savannah the first night and made it to Florida the next day. 

Required dorky picture with the sign. 

We stayed in a hotel Sunday night, so mom checked in and took Marmalade (our kitty) inside. Marmie does ok in the car, but she'd rather not be in the car. Then we took off to explore. 

This is the outside of our rental. It's a duplex (they call them villas here).  

There's a palmetto shrub (we think) on the corner. 

Mom then drove from our villa to her job, just to see where it was. Amazingly, her job is blocks from the Manatee River and the Riverwalk! So we decided to take a walk!

 This is the eastern end of the Riverwalk.

 The Manatee River and one of the bridges.

Look at all the palm trees! 

Lounge chairs and sun shades.

The city across the river is Palmetto. 

Look at this plant! Isn't that gorgeous? So vibrant in January!

Another picture of the plant. This was outside our hotel in Bradenton. As a plant nerd, mom is in heaven with all the new ones to identify. 

Next post, moving in !

Loving it here!

OMP WE LOVE FLORIDA!

It's warm! The sun shines every day! Mom is so much happier here. That's a big deal for sensitive dogs like us. We are happier and more relaxed because she is! 

Here's a few teaser pictures to whet your appetite! 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Mom got the best Christmas present this year. She got a new job!

We are moving to Florida at the end of January!

We'll be moving to the Bradenton area. It's between Tampa and Sarasota. 

After the holidays, mom will go down there to find us a place to live. 

We're spending Christmas packing and cleaning and painting! And loving it!

Once we get settled, we will post again. Probably won't post much before that since we've been so good at regular posting WITHOUT a major life change. Ha! 

We wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and even better New Year.

Home and loopy

Mom is home and ok. Didn't need a total rotator cuff repair which is great news. Still have some recovery time and rehab to go. And lots of pain meds. Loopy pain meds.
More when mom is up to it.

Acromio-what?

First, cute pug picture to ease you into this.

The verdict is in. Mom's having shoulder surgery on August 29. The MRI showed a partially torn rotator cuff (50%). However, the doctor couldn't tell if it was torn badly enough for a total rotator cuff repair because the tear goes under the bone. There's a bone in the shoulder called the acromion. Mom's is curved downward, and it's been tearing into her cuff. Her's is a Type II.

The surgery will be to shave the bone down to stop it from tearing the cuff. If the tear isn't too bad, it will heal with rest and therapy. If, when the doctor gets in there, it's worse than she could see on the MRI, mom will have the rotator cuff repair surgery too.

Best case scenario, mom will be home from work for 2-4 weeks depending on how well she heals (and how compliant she is with rehab). Worst case, 6-8 weeks off work because mom has a standard transmission car. Fortunately (depending on how you look at it), she's been working so much without any time off, she has at least 9 weeks of paid time off saved up. Plus, she earns at least 2 days off each month, even when she's on leave. So, we'll be ok as far as treat money!

Our Nana is flying up from Texas to stay with us for a while since mom won't be able to drive for a while. That ought to be fun. Nana is a total sucker for sad pug eyes and should be good for extra food! Plus, mom will be on pain meds and won't know!

So mom has two weeks to get everything ready. Scrub the house top to bottom. Is the house ever clean enough for a Nana? Probably not. Especially since mom has been basically crippled since February, things have seriously slacked off. Not like she was a stellar housekeeper before. Anyway.

Mom's making 6 weeks worth of dog food for us, so you see where her priorities are! She has bought a few new undergarments and dresses that she can put on with one arm. She's going to make and freeze food for her too. Nana won't be able to stay the whole time. One, she has her own life and her own dog and our grandpa. Two, despite pain meds, this house is not big enough for two large personalities like Nana and mom. And us. And no cable like Nana is used to. Mom won't be able to be a good hostess like she tries to be when Nana visits. Nana will be a mom. It's hard to be mothered when you are 42 and very used to doing things YOUR way and taking care of yourself. It will be hard for both of them.

BUT it will be good practice (and maybe a clear indicator) for when mom and Nana and Papa eventually all live together somewhere else. When we move and they move. In a few years. But having separate spaces, not on top of each other. And not during a crazy election season. Thank pug we don't have cable!

Deb has offered some survival tips, but we are open to more if you have any. We are working on a thingamabob to help mom open jars and bottles with one hand with a friend. Looking for an electric can opener that's easy to use with one hand. Mom's ambidextrous, so this won't be as hard on her as it has been on others. She spent last weekend in a sling to see where the problems would be. Baby gates will be tough. Bottles and jars as mentioned. But she can wash and comb her hair, take a shower, brush her teeth. Sweeping is out. Boo hoo. ;)

So if you have any hints, please let us know. As always, we would appreciate any prayers, good juju and positive thoughts for a speedy recovery and good attitude.

One last cute pug picture to cleanse your palate.

Super wordy post

Apparently, we can only blog once every six months. Here's a picture of a merpug to apologize.

Look, life hasn't been going so great for mom. We pugs are okay. Well, Tallulah has had some med changes, but overall, we're fine.

This is supposed to be a fun pug blog, and we don't want to bring everybody down. However, we do want to explain our absence some.

The last 18 months has been really hard.
We lost two kitty siblings in the same weekend. It was traumatic, and our remaining kitty has had a hard time adjusting to being the only one.
Mom is not in her PhD program any more. She failed her exam. Six years and sooooo much money gone. This shook the foundation of her being and made her question her life. Completely changed the course of what she thought the future was supposed to be. When your whole life was based on an assumption and that assumption turns out to be wrong, what are you left with?
In February, mom's shoulder and neck really started hurting. She gets care from the VA (disabled veteran) for some things. After months and months of waiting (and finally a threat to go to the media), mom finally got an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. Last week. There's a strong possibility that she has a torn rotator cuff and will need surgery. So that's been fun.
Since June 2015, she's been doing her own job and another person's job. That person retired. Then she got a third person's responsibilities in January 2016. She was promised a raise and someone to help with all this work in February. In June of this year, she found out that was a lie. Then the person who promised the raise tried to get her fired. She still has her job, but it was scary.
With all this work turmoil, mom decided it was time to look for new work and move. That means taking a hard look at our house and fixing it up. We had our contractors and a realtor come through and give us an estimate on what it would cost to upgrade our 120 year old house to compete with the brand new houses in the neighborhood.
It would take $50,000. And the realtor said that even with those upgrades (and stripping out all of the character out), we wouldn't be able to sell the house for enough money to cover the cost of the renovation plus the mortgage. Our contractor and the realtor agreed that it would be better if we didn't do the renovation at all. Put some money into curb appeal, scrub the house top to bottom, clear it out and sell it as is. The new houses are new with open layout, blah blah blah. Our house is old. It has walls. It has original features and quirks. Thank pug for an honest contractor!
Hearing that was a relief, actually. Going through the house with the contractor made mom cry. The contractor recommended (against her own *personal* taste) that we paint all the woodwork white, that all the walls be painted beige, that the solid wood, handmade cabinets be painted too. When you sell your house, you are *supposed* to depersonalize and let go. It's one thing to paint your blue walls to a neutral color. It's another to paint real wood (not crappy plywood) cabinets, crown molding and doors.
So that's what we're doing. We had the front porch and back deck painted. A new storm door and the porch railings fixed. The house was pressure washed and the window frames were painted. Inside, mom has been going through stuff. She's made several trips to the dump, thrift stores and recycling center. She has even more to go. We have nearly 1900 square feet of house plus a shed crammed with stuff. Plus a bunch of outdoor stuff like patio furniture. The plan is to reduce the amount of stuff we have so we could move to a smaller apartment with a storage unit.
Oh, and mom's teeth are cracking from clenching her jaw. She's been to the dentist three times in a month. Got another appointment next week. They fix one abfraction and another pops up. She's gone through four over the counter mouth guards since January. She has to get a cavity filled then she'll get fitted for a professional one that will hopefully last longer.
That's pretty much the lowlights of the last year and a half. There have been other smaller dramas, but those are the biggies. It has not been fun.

BUT, here's what we're doing about it.
Mom is applying for jobs. Many jobs. In other states. There's one in particular that she really wants that starts reviewing applications after August 15.
When she gets home from work, she does about an hour of sorting of stuff (usually). She has a lot to go (hasn't even touched the shed or the holiday decoration boxes), but she is making some slow progress. Even with one working arm.
She had a MRI last week on her shoulder. Her appointment is August 11 to see if she needs surgery or not, but we're hoping she gets in earlier. If she needs surgery, our grandma will come stay for a while. Fortunately, mom does have lots of vacation time from work. The doctor thought if she needed surgery, it could be scheduled in two weeks. Rotator cuff surgery recovery seems to be about 6 weeks.
So while mom is home recovering from surgery, she can use that one good arm to sort through stuff. She may not be able to lift a box, but she can sort with one hand into keep, donate and trash piles. She  may be able to pack a little too. She can definitely paint a wall or trim with one arm, at least for a while.
When mom does get that new job and we do move, we'll be ready. We hope to be out of here by Christmas. Earlier if possible. But moving in the summer would be miserable. Moving after she recovers from surgery would make a lot more sense. October would be great.
If you pray, please pray that mom gets the right job for her. We have faith that God has a plan, and we want to follow the plan. It's not knowing the plan that makes mom nervous, but that's the point of faith, right? So maybe just pray for us in general.
We are going to try to blog more. No promises though because obviously we haven't kept them in the past. It's hard because mom is working 10-11 hours a day then coming home to work on the house. Then applying for jobs. But she'll try.
Also, if anyone wanted to visit us in Virginia, you should probably schedule it soon. Paws crossed, our guest bedroom will be full of boxes in a few months!

Merry Christmas!

*Updated* The darn scheduler didn't work. This was supposed to go up on Christmas Eve. Oops.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas, a wonderful New Year and peace on earth all year round!

Certain naughty pugs would not keep their wings on so the photo that mom wanted did NOT go as planned. This is what we got instead. 

Veterans Day 2015

It's Veterans Day. 

Southern Fried Pugs mom here. 

Some of you know that I was in the Air Force. I am not a combat veteran. I only went overseas for three weeks to support a training mission to Egypt. It was an awesome experience. 

I served for 10 years. The Air Force helped shape me. It helped change me from an idealistic, naive, somewhat entitled, privileged white girl to a more focused, more disciplined woman. 

I still have a spirit of idealism, but it is tempered with reality. I learned balance (ok, still learning). 

I learned leadership, what good leadership looks like and what an absence of leadership looks like. 

I learned how to work as part of a team. 

I learned how to follow. That wasn't easy. 

I learned when to follow and when to lead. 

I learned about how to be a good supervisor, how to motivate people, different kinds of people. 

I learned that if you take care of your people first, they take care of their job which lets you do your job. I learned that you have to be flexible and adaptable, yet prepared for anything.

I am proud to have served my country. 

There are serious problems and mistakes have been made, but this is my nation. I am not a blind patriot. I am not a mindless flag waver. I am a person who gave 10 years of my life in service to my country. 

I would do it again. I am one who still serves, just in a different capacity. 

I am not posting this to ask for thanks for me on Veterans Day. Most veterans will be a little embarrassed when you do thank them. 

 

In 2015, we've come a long way in appreciating veterans and their service. 

I ask that you look around you for other veterans who blend in. 

Don't just thank a vet on Veterans Day. 

Thank them all year long. 

Senior Airman Ramsey, circa 1997

 

A fellow blogger in need

When you join the blogging community, you start building a network. You get a comment on your blog so you go visit that blog. Then you click on a link that another blogger is following. Pretty soon, you're connected to blogs all over.

That's how I found Our Forest Haven. Naturally, there was a pug connection. Donna wrote so lovingly of her home in the forest and her adorable pug Douglas. We became blog friends. She has inspired me to find my own forest haven somewhere. Somewhere warmer than Canada though.

Donna and her husband have a farm in Canada for misfit animals, as she calls them. A blind ram named Braveheart. A pony no one wanted. Prairie dogs that people abandoned. For the last few years, Donna has been suffering with health problems. She's had a few surgeries and been on some medications that help, then knock her down. Then she was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. Kevin had been doing all the work with the sheep and goats with help from Jim. Before she got so sick, Donna was right there with them. It had been killing her to have to stay in bed, but that's what illnesses do to you.

Last week, Donna lost her husband to a heart attack. It's just hard to process this, and it's not even my life. I read about it on Calamity Acres, thanks to Mary Ann.

One of Donna's friend's has set up a Go Fund Me for her. If you can, please consider a donation to a fellow blogger. If you can't, maybe you can share it on Twitter or Facebook?

Let's surround her with love as much as we can. We may not be near her physically, but we can send her love, peace and comfort. We can wrap her in a blanket of pug hugs.

We're ok!

Fortunately, the hurricane moved east! 

That still left us with the nor'easter (kind of like a hurricane in that it's a system instead of a storm that rolls in and out, but it's not tropical) to deal with. 

We are still dealing with high tides and winds, but overall, we're ok. 

We slept through most of it. 

It's super soggy here, there's branches to clean up, 

but it could have been SOOOO much worse. 

Any good juju you were sending our way, please redirect to South Carolina. They are dealing with catastrophic floods. We are used to floods. It's called Tidewater here for a reason. 

This is a once in 1000 years flood for them. 

We pray that all the people and animals can get to safe, warm and dry places. 

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post…

We had yet another bit of mom's New York adventure scheduled for today. However, the weather has other plans.

We have not one but two nasty weather systems in our future. First, a nor'easter is bringing us lots of rain and storms. Two, a little hurricane called Joaquin may cause us some trouble. 

It's too early to tell where Joaquin will make landfall, but this is what it looks like as of 6 pm on Sept 30. No bueno.

Yes, Norfolk (where we live) is right in the bullseye. 

Our local weather team is predicting a poopy outcome overall. 

But we'll see. Who knows what will happen in a few days time? 

In the meantime, our supplies have been updated. We have oodles of potty pads in store. We are as ready as we can be. Think good thoughts for us and our city. The biggest impact will likely be damage from falling trees since the ground is saturated from lots and lots of rain. That could mean power outages and damage to buildings. 

It's the price we pay for living near the wild and wonderful Atlantic.

Next stop, Central Park, Apple Store and the Library

The Met is right next to Central Park. Mom got lunch at a falafel cart (so NYC) and ate it in the park. Then a stroll through some of the park. 

 The reservoir. 

 The APPLE STORE! MECCA FOR APPLE NERDS! It's a glass cube on top.

 You take a windy ramp down into the actual store (on the left). No time (or money) to visit. 

 The Plaza! Did not see any pugs. 

 Practice, practice, practice did not get her to Carnegie Hall. It was a car! Comparatively speaking, it's a small building for such a huge piece of history. 

 This is the New York Public Library. Mom knew better than to even step foot inside. All those books? She'd never come out. 

This is Fortitude. The other lion is Patience. 

Mom knew better than to pose in front of Patience. Fortitude is more her speed.