SAINTS

The barn animals went to bed nicely (lulling Julie into a false sense of security as I was showing her the ropes – wait ’til she does it on her own and they all decided to go into the wrong stalls!).  We were accompanied by a lovely lullaby from Petunia who wanted an evening stroll but was very pleasant about the whole thing. 

The dogs are snoozing quietly, though Michael the troll is a little pissed off at the cats who have taken over two of the kitchen beds. 

Sandy is looking a little forlorn, so we went for a nice late night walk (who ARE those guys who always hang out in their truck by the school yard all evening??? Creepy!) and then he drank a gallon of water before settling in for the night.  Morning cleanup crew – expect a BIG flood in the living room.

Maude thinks I have done away with Carol – I swear she looks at me very accusingly as if to say “what have you done with my MOM???).  She, too, got a little evening walk but that wasn’t enough to stop her from quietly watching every move I made as she curled up behind the front door, waiting for Carol’s return. 

Wilbur didn’t mind my injection premiere – Eva showed me what to do last night and tonight he didn’t even flinch when I gave him his insulin poke. Thank goodness – one more hurdle crossed.

I almost dozed off on the couch, cats all over me, dogs by my side, gentle snuffling and snoring noises from the variety of baskets and beds around the room. One of the best things about this whole experience is that I get to see the part of SAINTS that usually only Carol sees – the incredibly quiet, calm, peaceful SAINTS when sleep is creeping in and the night is dark and all’s right with the world. 

 

It is wonderful to see so many people offering to help. Being the control freak that I am I need to get some order to the chaos. I have started a yahoo group for SAINTS volunteers. I would like everyone who is offering to help to please subscribe. This way we can send out one email and it will reach everyone without having to remember everyone’s address. Here is the link: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/SAINTSvolunteers/

 Our immediate needs are for volunteers to do the barn on the weekday evenings. This involves bringing the animals in and feeding them. Currently this responsibility is going to fall heavily onto Jean and I would like to less that if possible. If I have missed anything in this routine please advise (Carol, Jean, Mo). We have 2 volunteers doing the barn on the weekday mornings this week but we will need some more help next week and going forward.

We also need volunteers to go and hang out with animals, especially in the evenings, until Carol has had her surgery and is at least there. The animals are really feeling this change in their routine and any extra attention they can get at this time is greatly appreciated. If you can do a couple of loads of laundry or wash a floor while you are there hanging out it will help immensely.

If there is an area you want to help out in but don’t know how just let us know and we will arrange for someone to train you.

Once again, thanks to everyone for the incredible outpouring of offers of help and donations at this time. It is appreciated by all of us and especially the animals!

Lindsey (my daughter) just picked me up a wheel chair. Amazing!!! Half an hour ago,I am teary,  feeling hopeless and helpless and such a terrible burden to everyone and now I can move around and soon as I get that surgery, I AM COMING HOME!!! I know I can still sort of mop a floor, and I can feed and medicate at least the indoor guys, but best of all…i can touch their faces without falling over(cuz i SUCK on one leg!!!)

My deepest heartfelt thanks to everyone who has pulled together to care for the most beloved saints. Mo, now i know what saints withdrawal feels like and i don’t like it at all. I know i will continue to be a burden for the next few weeks, but i promise to help out everywhere i can. thank you, thank you, thank you,i am blessed by the good people who surround us.

I just talked to Carol and she is already whining about wanting to come home, so I’d say she’s doing okay.  Bored out of her mind, missing her animals, but okay.

The schedule is slowly coming together – there are still some gaps (Chris will likely post them here as soon as we identify them clearly), especially for a long term plan as we will need help for quite a while.  Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. 

 And please, pray to the snow gods to leave us alone – I hear there’s another snow warning for tonight…..yikes!