Goodbye, Pippin

Pippin

 

March 31, 2005 - January 28, 2021

 

 

I've been meaning to write this for a few weeks, but I kept putting it off because I knew it would be hard.

 

 

I brought Pippin to the vet some time between 8:00 and 9:00 AM on January 28th. They called me later that afternoon and said that things didn't look good for Pippin and that they believed the best thing we could do is put him to sleep. (Not her exact words, but it's been over a month and I can't remember exactly how she worded it.) Pippin was severely dehydrated (they were giving him fluids) and his kidneys were shutting down, which is what I figured. The vet and a couple of the receptionists told me that we did a good job taking care of Pippin, that we did a lot for him. I wish I could've done more for him though.

 

Even though I figured we'd end up having him put to sleep that day, it was still hard to hear. I had a hard time not crying while I was on the phone with the vet. I cried when I got off the phone, and later that night or the next night, I had a big ugly cry. I've cried several times since then. 

 

Just the other day, I was letting Milo out and thought of Pippin. We had him for almost 16 years and it feels strange that he isn't here anymore. He was a lot of work, especially his last few years and even more so his last month of life, but he was a good boy. 

 

I still get a pain in my heart and a lump in my throat when I think of what he went through those last few weeks and how he didn't deserve to be sick like that. Not that any animal does. But he really was such a good boy - sweet, funny, goofy, playful (until he started feeling bad), well-behaved. He had the worst breath I've ever smelled in my life. lol But he wouldn't let us brush his teeth. He needed teeth pulled and a deep cleaning, but with his age and heart issues, the vet said they couldn't put him under anesthesia to take care of it.

The first couple weeks after he died, I would sometimes look over to where he slept in the dining room (he had a bed and blankets in a crate) or Kelly's room and think, "Does he need to go out?", "Is it time for him to eat?", "Is it time for his medicine?" (heart medication, lasix, blood pressure), "Is he doing okay?"

 

The last few weeks of his life, some days he'd happily eat his food (even though he wasn't eating nearly as much or as often as he did a few months ago) and some days we'd have to gently force him. And then there were the days when he wouldn't eat at all. For 2, 3, 4 days in a row he'd eat nothing. Then on the 4th or 5th day he might eat a handful of food at most. As his eating got worse, I knew he was probably coming close to the end. And then when he was peeing every hour, I figured his kidneys were failing and this might be it for him. I had hoped they could maybe do something to give him a little more time, but I didn't have high hopes for that.

 

Pippin would've been 16 on March 31st. We got him in May of 2005 when he was almost two months old. He was so little and curly and sweet and adorable. He learned quickly to potty outside and to do as he was told. I don't think we could've asked for a dog sweeter or funnier or with a better personality or temperament than Pippin. He was gentle and loved everyone he met. 

 

He was the goodest of boys.

I gave Pippin a lot of nicknames over the years. I don't know if I can remember all of them, but here are the ones I can remember.

Pips, Pip, Rips, Ree, Reez, Ree Roo Pee Poo, Pippin Dip, Ree Roo the Pee Poo, Reez the Peez, Mr. Nassy (because of his nasty breath lol), Rippers.

 

 

I cried a few times while writing this. Not hard, but I did have to stop and compose myself a few times.

 

I will end this entry with some pictures of Pippin.

 

May 2005

 

 

 

May 2005

 

July 21, 2005

 

 

 

August 2005

 

January 2008

 

Age 3

 

March 2, 2009.

 

Pippin loved snow. It snowed a little bit the night before we had him put to sleep. I carried him outside to potty and even though he couldn't really see anymore, I said to him as I was holding him, "Look, Pippin. It snowed." 

 

 

November 20, 2010

Early 2012

From the vet's office.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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Pippin

I'll be bringing Pippin back to the vet in the morning. He seemed to be doing better for a little while, then he stopped eating again. He'd go a couple days without eating and then we'd be able to get him to eat a little bit for a few days. Then he'd stop eating again. This has gone on all month and he's gotten very skinny.

Monday night, he started peeing a lot more than normal. We were taking him outside every couple hours and then he started peeing more often than that, so we had to start taking him out every hour. (I take the night shift and Kelly takes over in the mornings.) Surprisingly, we haven't seen any blood in his urine. We sometimes miss taking him out and he pees in the floor. When I wipe it up, I check to see if there's any pink or red tint in his urine.

I've been wondering pretty much all month if he's coming to the end of his life. And now with the frequent urination, zero appetite (we've tried gently forcing him to eat, but he spits it out or refuses to open his mouth), and strong thirst, and the fact that his kidneys have been less than ideal for a couple years, I think his kidneys may be failing him now. 

 

Plus, he seems confused, gets lost and ends up under, between, or against things. He'll just stand there as if he doesn't know what to do about where he is. He also stumbles a bit and when we take him outside to potty, he sometimes falls off the step going out the door. I'm surprised he hasn't whined when that's happened. More recently, he sometimes just sits on the ground and we have to make him stand up so he can pee. I think maybe it's the lack of food that's causing his confusion and stumbling. He's got to be weak from not eating.

 

I called the vet and told them that if it's something simple that would keep him with us a little longer, then we'll do that. But if it's going to require a lot of medication and intervention and/or drastic measures, I'd rather we just put him to sleep if he's as bad off as he looks. They agreed that it may be time, but of course they'll have a better idea what we should do after looking at him.

They want him there by 9:00 AM and they'll look at him when they get a chance between patients. We may or may not be saying goodbye to him tomorrow. At first I thought maybe I'd want to bring him home so we could have one more day with him and then bring him back on Friday to have him put to sleep, if that's what is decided is best for him. But then I got to thinking that I really don't want him to go another 24 hours of starving and frequent urination (it's got to be uncomfortable). Poor old man has been through enough, in my opinion.

The lady I spoke to at the vet's office said, "You've done a lot for him." And she understands and agrees that, depending on what they see, putting him to sleep may be what's best for him now. She said that she herself is about to have to make the same decision for her pet.

I'm dreading tomorrow (today now, technically) and have already cried a few times. It reminds me of when I had Sadie put to sleep. I cried a lot and it hurt to say goodbye to her, but it was also kind of a relief to end her suffering. If today is the day we have to do the same for Pippin, it will hurt and I know I'll cry a lot (I'm getting choked up now as I type this), but his suffering will be over. 

 

The Little Ol' Fat Man has been a very good dog and he doesn't deserve what he's going through right now. We will do what we can to make things better for him.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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The Holidays, Doctor Stuff, and Sick Dogs

I've gotten way behind with my blog. I told myself several times that I need to post a new entry, but I'd always get busy with other things. I'm setting a few things aside to write this.

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We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. My mom didn't stay for dinner because she doesn't like to eat after 5:00 or 6:00. :-/ We have it that "late" so that my brother can have Thanksgiving with his son and his son's mother's family (he's still married to Jennifer, but left her a couple years ago) and not have to rush here or still be full from dinner there when he gets here. Plus, I don't have to get up real early to cook.

So anyway, it was just me, Charlie, Kelly, Sean, Ashley, my brother Del, and my mom (who didn't stay long and didn't eat). We had turkey (of course), mashed potatoes and gravy, black eyed peas, stuffing/dressing, green beans, crescent rolls, apple pie, and pumpkin pie.

 

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Kelly had her neurologist appointment on December 11th. He doesn't believe she has Tourette's because of her age when it started. He wants her to see a psychologist. The psychologist is supposed to call to make an appointment, but they haven't yet. I may have to call the neurologist and ask about it.

 

After Kelly and I left the neurologist's office, we went to Cugino Forno for pizza. They open at 11:00 and we got there around 11:30. There was maybe one or two other small groups there (2-4 people each), so we were able to sit far from other people and enjoy our amazing pizza.

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Charlie's doctor still hasn't scheduled his surgery. Something we thought they would do a couple months ago. He said he called them yesterday and they said they would let the nurse know. :-/

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Charlie and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary on December 17th. We didn't go anywhere because of corona and because we didn't really want to go anywhere. I cooked us a delicious supper, he gave me flowers, and we exchanged cards.

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We had a nice Christmas. Sean and Ashley came over. Mom came over when she got off work (around 3:00 or 3:30), but didn't stay long. Del didn't come over, but he came by a couple days later because I told him we had a gift for him. He said his apartment is cold and he only had one blanket before our mom bought him one. So I got him a nice, thick blue one. He loved it.

Mom gave us money. 

 

Charlie and Kelly got me an electric fireplace that looks like a wood burning stove for my office. This room gets cold and I was tired of having to wear socks and cover myself with a blanket. I like that when the weather gets warm I can run it without the heat, so I can still enjoy the look of it in the summer. 

 

Sean and Ashley got me a Barnes and Noble gift card, a few boxes of one of my favorite candies (Goobers), a bookmark, and a Fellowship (LOTR) decal for my car (something I asked for that I knew wouldn't cost them much).

Sean loves astronomy, so we got him a small USB light projector that shines blue stars wherever he points it. He can use it in his car or their bedroom. We also got him a blanket with constellations that glow in the dark and a black T-shirt with four or five '70s models split bumper Camaros on it - his dream car.

We got Kelly a stuffed Pusheen lion, a black cloak, a blanket that's forest green on one side and white/ivory sherpa on the other (she loves blankets), an Ahsoka Tano Funko Pop figure, and a video game.

We got Ashley three books - Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I had sent Sean a text with the titles of several books asking if Ashley had read any of them and she hadn't. He said that she said she trusts my taste in books because she loved the ones I got her for her birthday. She told me a few days after Christmas that she read Anna and the French Kiss in a day and loved it. :-)

Kelly and I got Charlie two T-shirts - a blue one with Chevy Novas, Camaros, and Chevelles on it (including a '67 Camaro, the year Camaro that he has) and a white one with Novas on it (including a '70 model, the one that he has).

 

We got Mom a pretty purple cardigan and a pink/purple decal for her car that says "Protected" with angel wings over it and a cross for the T.  I've had a white one like it on my car for years and I remembered her saying she wanted one when I first got it, but I couldn't find anymore back then. So I checked Amazon and found a few.

Sean and Ashley got Charlie a golf hat and golf towel. Some brand that Sean and Charlie like. They also gave him a pretty green Hot Wheels Camaro. Charlie wants to paint his Camaro green, so Sean figured Charlie would like it.

For Christmas dinner, I made a roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli or green beans, black eyed peas, crescent rolls, apple pie, and pumpkin pie. That evening, Charlie got the free month trial of HBO Max so we could watch Wonder Woman 1984. It was okay. The first one was much better.

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Saturday, December 26th, Milo woke up very squinty. He could barely open his eyes and kept them shut most of the time. He started sneezing the next night. Pippin had been sick to his stomach (something that happens to him a few times a year), which usually lasts about a week, but after a week he still was barely eating. His stomach issues had cleared up, so it wasn't that. I watched him more closely and figured it was probably a tooth bothering him.

So, I called the vet Monday morning and they had me bring them in early Tuesday morning. (December 29th.) I was finally able to pick them up around 4:00. They sent Milo home with steroid drops for his eyes and antibiotics. They also took blood from both dogs. They weren't sure if Milo's problem was an upper respiratory infection or something else. Or possibly both. 

 

Blood results were pretty good for both dogs. So Milo probably did have an upper respiratory infection and it's definitely Pippin's teeth or a tooth that's bothering him. There's nothing they can do for Pippin though. With his age and his heart problems, they can't put him under general anesthesia to pull his teeth. I've since started mashing his food after letting it sit in warm water for awhile to make it easier for him to eat and that seems to have helped. He can't eat the canned stuff because it gives him diarrhea.

Milo is doing much better. He started playing again after a couple days on his medicines and is no longer squinting or sneezing. He had a follow up appointment on Thursday the 7th and the vet said he looks great.

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A couple weeks ago, I was having trouble sleeping. I would wake up several times, usually because I was cold. I doubled up my quilts and that helped a lot, but I wanted to get a thicker blanket or comforter so that I wouldn't have two quilts to wash when I changed the bedding. (I only have three.) I got a cheap one at Walmart - just $64 before tax. When I put it on our bed, the material felt kind of thin to me, so I wasn't sure it would keep me warm, but it has. I don't know how long it will last because of how cheap it is, but I like it. I may get a better quality one (on sale) someday.

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I bought a new coat from Dillard's a week or so ago. Actually, I ordered it online. I saw that they had coats on sale and I really wanted a red one, but I wanted to try them on first. I ended up liking the way the black London Fog single breasted looked on me better than the red Anne Klein double breasted. It was originally about $150 and I paid less than $90 before taxes. It came with a scarf, but it was shorter and thinner than I prefer. I was going to bring it to Goodwill, but Kelly said that Rene loves scarves, so I gave it to her. 

 

I can't remember the last time I bought a coat. At least 10 years ago. It's nice to have a new one. My gray one needs a button sewn on it and my other two coats (one long, red double breasted and a dark purple one) are my church coats because they're too nice, in my opinion, to wear while grocery shopping and running around town.

 

 

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This was longer than I was planning, but that's usually how it is with me. lol I hope to do my usual end of the year and beginning of the year posts soon.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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Library/Office, Aquarium Critters, Pippin, Etc.

This Tuesday will be a month since I went grocery shopping. (Good thing I had been buying a couple weeks' worth of meals at a time. Plus, Charlie has been picking up things here and there when we need them.) I plan on going grocery shopping today though. And, thanks to Charlie, I don't have to try to find toilet paper or paper towels. He came home Wednesday with three packs of toilet paper (Charmin, no less!), one 12 roll and two 6 rolls, and a big pack of Sparkle paper towels. I was so surprised and happy. "You found Charmin?!" I normally buy Angel Soft, but after about a month of using generic single-ply, I was thrilled to see Charmin. lol

I still wipe down everything that comes into our house - groceries, packages, mail, etc. And we've been getting packages 2-3 days a week for the past couple weeks. We finally got our stimulus check a few weeks ago and it's helped us to get some things we want or need. Charlie's been working all this time, so we didn't need the extra money for bills. Well, except for vet bills. I've taken Pippin to the vet (more on that later) and still need to take Milo and Loki. (Though I used our Care Credit card for Pippin's vet bill.) But other than that, we've mostly spent the money on stuff for the aquarium and for the room we're turning into the library/office. We've spent less than half of it.

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On the subject of the library/office (Sean's old bedroom), the new desk came about a week ago. It took a few hours for Charlie to put it together, but it looks nice. I still need to call Spectrum and have internet hooked up back there. When Sean lived here he said the WiFi wasn't good in his room, so I'll need it installed in that room.

I have moved most things out of my old/current desk. It's much bigger than the new one, so the new one doesn't have as much storage. I've thrown out a lot of things that were in this desk and will bring some things to Goodwill, but I still need more storage. I have my eye on a few options that I hope will look good in the room.

I finally decided on a ceiling fan for the room and ordered it on Tuesday (I think) from a local Home Depot. (It was only about $70 before taxes.) Charlie picked it up that same day and put it up the next day. I think it looks pretty good. I ordered pretty pull chains/charms for it yesterday. (Also from Home Depot. Amber alabaster, by Westinghouse.) They should be here this Tuesday.

 Sinclair tarnished bronze, by Hampton Bay.

I ordered a new mouse pad from Office Depot on Tuesday and it came the next day. My old one was firm and scratched up my desk badly from being slid in and out of the mouse cubby. I don't want my new desk scratched up, so I ordered a soft one. The picture on it is a close up of a green leaf with rain drops on it. Green is my favorite color, so it really caught my eye and should be pretty on my new desk.

Yesterday, I ordered a new desk chair. (Staples Sorina Bonded Leather, Black.) My old/current chair has been broken for awhile and the outer layer has peeled off all over it. I thought maybe I was going to have to spend more than $200 for a chair (this one was over $200), but I didn't want to. I found one at Staple's website that has over 1000 reviews with an average rating of 4½ stars out of 5, so it better be a good one. lol It was $174.99 before a $25-off coupon and then added tax - the total came out to be $159.05. It's supposed to be delivered today.

A couple weeks ago, I ordered a galaxy light (by Hyodream on Amazon) for the room for about $25 (before tax and shipping). It has 16 different colors you can change it to. It looks kind of cheap when it's not turned on, but is really pretty when it is turned on.

And I ordered a decorative lantern for the room. You can put a regular candle in it or a battery operated candle. It should be here next week. It's being sent to Home Depot (so I don't have to pay shipping lol) and either me or Charlie will go pick it up. It's by kieragrace and was about $40.

There are a few other decorative items I want for the room (armillary sphere, area rug, wall art), but I'm going to hold off on those for a bit. And I'll probably need one of those clear mats for the desk chair since it has wheels and will be on carpet. I don't want to get one (not sure it'll look good in the room), but if I can't move the chair I'll have to get one.

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Charlie bought four fish a  couple weeks ago. (Our first fish in this tank.) All four are Chromis fish, which are a type of Beta fish. I named two of them - Beren and Luthien - and Kelly named the other two - Mushu and Kili. Unfortunately, Luthien died a couple days ago. (They aren't adults yet and are different sizes. Luthien and Mushu are/were the same size, but Mushu has a couple extra markings. Kili is the smallest and Beren is the biggest. So it's easy to tell them apart for now.) She had stopped eating a few days ago and we were concerned. I really wanted her to make it, so I was kind of sad when she died. Well, I say "she", but we don't actually know their genders.

Anyway, we want to get a few more fish eventually. I told Charlie I want a clown fish and there's some kind of yellow angel fish (not sure of its actual name) that he showed me a picture of that I think is pretty. And the gold dot maroon clown fish.

Oh, we also have two peppermint shrimp. We had dozens of tiny jelly fish that came from who knows where. They're called hydroid jelly fish and they can sting (though I don't think damage) fish. I read somewhere that peppermint shrimp will eat hydroid jelly fish. We don't have many jelly fish now. Mostly because Charlie was able to scoop out a bunch of them.

Anyway, Sean named the shrimp Rhaegar and Daenerys. (Ray-gar and duh-nair-us. Game of Thrones characters.) The guy at the fish store told Charlie that one of the shrimp is pregnant, so we might have some baby shrimp eventually.

And we have some snails. Charlie actually bought several of them, but most of them have died. That left us with four. A couple of those snails must have mated because we had a baby snail born one week and then another one the next week. I told Kelly after we noticed the first baby snail that if we could tell the sex we'd know what to name it. We could call it Shelly, short for Michelle if it's a girl or Sheldon if it's a boy. So Kelly named it Misheldon. lol I named the second one Lavender. The snails are lavender with purple spots/stripes. I can tell the two babies apart for now. Lavender is younger/smaller and has more lavender/less purple than Misheldon.

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I brought Pippin to the vet on Friday for a regular check up and a couple shots. The vet called on Tuesday with his lab results. She said he's teetering on kidney failure. She asked how his eating is and I told her he loves eating. He's still playful and runs around. She said if he stops eating and starts acting like he doesn't feel good to give them a call.

Other than having heart issues, being on three medications (heart, lasix, blood pressure), and being close to kidney failure, he's doing pretty good. Don't know how much longer he'll be around, but for now he seems to be enjoying life.

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Back in 1986, when I was 13 years old and we were living in Virginia, my dad bought my mom a white 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. She had it for years. I don't remember when she got rid of it, but I think it went to an acquaintance somewhere in or near Greensboro. And I don't remember how or when or where, but somehow Charlie ended up with it. It was in rough shape, but he and Sean were going to fix it up for Sean to drive.

Well, a few years later and not much had been done with it. So Sean decided to sell it. He listed it online somewhere and in less than an hour, he had multiple inquiries. A guy who lives in SC, near Charlotte, came up a couple days ago, with his girlfriend and a friend of hers, and bought it for $1000. I wasn't there for it, but my mom said the guy was thrilled to be getting this car. He called it his baby. lol He and Sean are supposed to keep in touch through Facebook so Sean can see what the car looks like as the guy fixes it up.

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I ordered two books from Amazon - Days of Terror by Jack Hunt and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (a Hunger Games prequel) by Suzanne Collins. They both came in the mail yesterday - one of them a week earlier than expected and the other a couple days earlier than expected.

I'm still reading Still Me by Jojo Moyes. I'm liking it and should've finished it weeks ago, but I've been too tired to read lately. :-/

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Corona Update:

These are the numbers in North Carolina (population over 10,000,000), as of 9:14 last night.

21,108 have tested positive out of over 291,000 tested.
11,600 have recovered.
743 have died.
580 are in the hospital.

In Guilford County, as of yesterday morning:

944 have tested positive.
50 have died.


I think our county is fourth in NC for highest number of positive cases, but it's a big county in terms of population and Greensboro is the third largest city in the state. So, while I don't like the numbers at all, I'm not surprised considering our size.


What else? As I mentioned earlier in this entry, I still wipe down everything that comes into our house. And I wipe down door knobs, toilet flushers and lids/seats, faucets, light switches, etc. regularly. I used to do that every day, but now I usually do it every other day.

Also as I said earlier, I haven't been grocery shopping in almost a month. Other than bringing Sean to work twice and picking him up, and bringing Pippin to the vet (they come out to the car to get him and then bring him back when they're done), I haven't been anywhere. I would put off getting groceries until Monday or Tuesday because I know the stores will be busy, but we're running out of stuff. I would've gone yesterday, but a tropical depression (Arthur) has been over us since Monday or Tuesday and it's been raining almost non-stop.


Well, this is way too long, so I need to end this entry.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Forgotten Family, DNA, Weddings, and Books

Sean is still working for Petco. He only gets to work a couple days a week. I hope he finds something soon that will give him more hours and that he can make a decent career out of.

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Milo had to go to the vet a few weeks ago for a recheck of his liver. His liver values or whatever are still too high, so he's on medication for that.

Pippin is due for his bi-annual exam, but we still owe $600 or $700 for Milo (Care Credit) and Christmas is coming up. :-/ It'll have to wait until after the new year.

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When I was working on the family tree a few weeks ago (I work on it nearly every day), I got a new hint for my great-grandpa Wilbur Melton. (My mom's dad's dad.) Turns out he and Great-grandma Vinnie had a son named Hustler (crazy name) who died when he was 10 months old. (Flu and then pneumonia.) He was their second child. (My grandpa was their third.) I asked my mom if she knew about him and she said she didn't. It makes me sad that he was forgotten (or at least not mentioned) all these years. 

In other Ancestry.com news, a new update is coming out with DNA. (The science is always improving.) My mom's and my husband's have both updated, but mine hasn't yet. I've been checking every day. Hopefully soon. I really want to know what it says now.


My mom's previous results:

78% England, Wales, and Northwestern Europe
22% Ireland and Scotland

Her current/updated results:

69% England, Wales, and Northwestern Europe
21% Ireland and Scotland
6% Norway
2% France
2% Spain


Charlie's previous results:

83% England, Wales, and Northwestern Europe
8% Ireland and Scotland
6% Norway
2% Benin/Togo
1% Germanic Europe

His current/updated results:

86% England, Wales, and Northwestern Europe
7% Ireland and Scotland
2% Germanic Europe
2% Sweden
1% Norway
1% Nigeria
1% Ghana

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I've been to two weddings in the last several weeks. Both couples attend my church. Carson and Jessica were married in September. Nicole and Lawaun were married on November 2nd. So happy for both couples.

Austin married Didi last month, but their wedding was in Massachusetts. Can't believe he got married at 19, but I hope they have a happy, till-death-do-they-part marriage.

That's four weddings of church couples since July. Um, hopefully no funerals any time soon. Ha ha. :-/

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For some reason, my GoodReads widget in the margin was saying that I was currently reading The Book Thief. Uh, no. I read that book 6 years ago. I had to update the widget. Hopefully it won't mess up again.

Since my last entry, I finished reading Days of Panic by Jack Hunt (I gave it 3 stars at GoodReads and will read the series; 3 more books) and started reading A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole. That one was difficult for me to get into, but then it got good around page 70. And then I lost interest and started reading The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth. That one's kind of dragging, though I'm not very far into it. Maybe around page 50? But then The Toll by Neal Shusterman came out this past Tuesday. I've been dying to read this one! It's the third book in the Scythe trilogy. I'm putting the other two on hold while I read this one. I'm so excited! lol

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I've purchased a bunch of new songs since my last entry. Well, they're not new, but they're new to my iPod. :-D "Fight for Us" is new-ish.

There are more songs I want, but haven't gotten around to buying them yet.

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I will write separate entries about our trip to the mountains last month, Kelly and I going to Hagan-Stone Park and Company Mill Reserve a couple days ago, and Kelly and I going to the Greensboro Science Center yesterday.


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Hurricane, Jury Summons, Snow, Etc.

This past October, Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida. (The devastation was incredible.) It was a tropical storm when it reached North Carolina on October 11th. It still had a lot of wind and rain in it. We lost power for a couple days (technically about 45½ hours), but thankfully we had a generator. (Our first time having one. Too bad we didn't have one when we lost power during an ice storm in early March 2014.) Many places in NC flooded. It hadn't been that long ago that Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina, and we'd had a lot of rain before and after Florence. The ground was pretty much saturated, which not only caused flooding, but many trees came down. About 500,000 people were without power in North Carolina. The county I live in had the most power outages.

Our generator isn't powerful enough to run a lot of things in our house, but we were able to keep the refrigerator running, a few lamps, some small fans, the TV, cable, and WiFi, use the microwave (if we unplugged the refrigerator first), and keep our phones charged. Thankfully, it wasn't hot out, so the fans were enough for those couple days that we didn't have power.

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I made a quick trip to Hagan-Stone Park on November 3rd to get some pretty fall pictures. We've had so much rain over the past few months that it's been too muddy to walk the trails, so I had to take pictures from less muddy spots. I would've loved to have been able to go deeper into the woods to get pictures.

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A couple months ago, I got a jury summons in the mail. Ugh. I was dreading it so much. I get a summons every couple of years, but only once have I actually had to go. This last summons was for the courthouse in High Point. I understand it's in the same county I'm in, but I don't live in High Point and rarely go there. I think the last time I was there was about two years ago. Prior to that, I can't remember how long it had been. I received a summons for the High Point courthouse once before, but thankfully when I called the night before, I was told that my services weren't needed. I got the same message when I called tonight. As I was listening to the recording, Charlie was standing near me and when they said my services weren't needed, I raised my fist up in the air and said, "Yes!" Charlie laughed. lol I am so happy I don't have to go!

The one time I did have to go, it was the courthouse in Greensboro. It was a long, boring day. I hated every minute of it. Thankfully my name was never called to go back to whatever the other room is. A selection room of some kind, I imagine. At one point, we were allowed to leave the assembly room for a break. I went to the break room to get water and a small bag of pretzels and as I was sitting there, I started feeling sick and faint. All those boring hours on an empty stomach and not much sleep. I don't do well in such situations.

Anyway, I find it interesting that Charlie has received a summons only once and has only voted once or twice. I vote every election and get a summons every couple of years. Charlie said he heard that they don't choose based on who votes, but I don't believe them. lol

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About mid to late October, I brought Pippin to the vet for his bi-annual check-up. At this visit, we found out he has congestive heart failure and his liver and kidneys are starting to not do so great. (He also had the giardia parasite, but medication took care of that.) He's now on heart medication and fluid pills. I've had to bring him to the vet every couple weeks since then and I'm really tired of going. It's been a couple weeks since the last vet visit. Hopefully I won't have to take him again for awhile. Milo is passed due for his check-up, but I haven't been able to take him because of Pippin's visits and the cost involved in that. *sigh*

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On November 27th, I got a text from my bank about suspicious activity in my account. Someone in Paris somehow got my information and attempted to purchase several things. Only a couple went through because I didn't have much in the bank, so most of their purchases were declined. Some of the purchases were some kind of Hobbiton movie set, an expensive dinner, and a boat cruise on the Seine. I went to the bank that Friday to get a temporary card to use until my new card arrived in the mail. The bank is currently reviewing the case. Surely they'll see that I didn't buy stuff in Paris one day, then get groceries in NC the next, then take a boat cruise in Paris after that.

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Sunday, December 9th, around midnight, a winter storm hit North Carolina. It snowed all night (Saturday night/Sunday morning) and all day Sunday. Then turned into sleet and freezing rain Sunday night, and then we got a little bit more snow on top of that. We got about a foot of snow where I live. The kind of snow we get about once every 10 years. Needless to say, everything shut down.

When they finally got to our neighborhood to plow, they only did about half of our street. I have no idea why. They stopped a couple houses before our house. I had to be careful getting out today to bring Kelly to the dentist.

We're supposed to get rain Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (seriously? more rain?!) and the temperature Sunday is supposed to be near 60°. So hopefully the snow will melt soon. Though with it being a foot high and the piles where they've plowed are higher than that (I heard 10 feet high in some places!), who knows when it will all be gone.

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Monday, December 10th, we got the news that Charlie's aunt Louise in Tennessee passed away that morning. She was 80 years old. She had been battling cancer for awhile, but it didn't seem like she was sick enough to die yet. She seemed in good spirits, smiling a lot, from the pictures her daughter was sharing on Facebook. Her death was a sad surprise.

The funeral is tomorrow (Thursday). Charlie would like to go, but he can't because he's the only one who will be at work. Others have taken time off/vacation time and they need someone there.

Charlie had said several times over the past few months that he'd like to go visit his uncle Richard and aunt Louise and family whenever we get the chance. It's been awhile since he's seen them and he misses them. Now if we ever get to go, he won't get to see his aunt Louise. He really loved her. :-(

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Since my last entry, I stopped reading Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon and read two other books. Warm Bodies and The New Hunger. Both by Isaac Marion. I ordered the third book (The Burning World) from Barnes and Noble almost a week ago, but haven't gotten an email yet telling me that it's come in. The fourth book (The Living) is only available digitally through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I don't read digital books. I went to GoodReads and found out that you can order the hardcover from the author's website. I'm waiting for that to be shipped.

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I will end this already kind of long entry with a picture of our Christmas tree. :-)

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Mountains, Pippin, Cool Wallet, Books, and Music

I've been meaning to post a new entry for awhile, but haven't felt like writing until now.


Wednesday, October 24th, Charlie, Sean, Kelly, Ashley, and I went to the mountains for the day. It was a little chilly (50s, to near 60°), but beautiful. We did our usual route - 40W to 52N to Fancy Gap, VA, then got on the Parkway and headed south to Boone.

Here are some of the pictures I took:

In Virginia.

Virginia.

Stone Mountain Overlook. North Carolina.

View of Stone Mountain, across the street from Mahogany Rock Overlook.

Perhaps Air Bellows overlook.

Alligator Back overlook.

Trail at Alligator Back.

Charlie, Kelly, Ashley, and Sean. Alligator Back.

At Bluff Mountain overlook. There's a nice trail that leads to a stream at this overlook.

The Lump overlook. Yes, we climbed the hill, as we always do.

At Dan'l Boone Inn Restaurant.

At Dan'l Boone Inn Restaurant.

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I brought Pippin to the vet for his bi-annual check up last month. (Bi-annual because he's a senior dog.) Poor old man is starting to have some health problems. *sigh* We knew about the collapsing trachea from his spring vet visit, but now he also has congestive heart failure, fluid in his lungs, and his kidneys and liver aren't doing great. He's on heart medication now, as well as fluid pills. He also tested positive for giardia (a parasite), but we gave him medicine for that. His kidneys and liver aren't doing bad enough to require medication. Hopefully they won't get to that point. He's been to the vet every couple weeks since then and, honestly, I'm really sick of going there. He has to go back again this Monday. :-/ Milo is due for his annual exam, too. If they'd ever stop asking me to bring Pippin back for whatever, I can bring Milo.

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I ordered a Loki wallet from Loungefly a few weeks ago. I love it! Now I want the purse. :-) And a Loki decal for my car.

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Since my last entry, I finished Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman. Very good book. Can't wait for the third and final book in the trilogy to come out next year.

I then read more of Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon (short stories about minor characters from her big books) and then I read The Kept by James Scott. It started off interesting enough, then dragged once the two main characters reached a town they went to trying to find the men who killed their family. The ending was awful, in my opinion. They never completed what they set out to do. The book ended right in the middle of an important scene. Not in a cliffhanger sort of way, but more like the author got tired of writing and decided to stop, to paraphrase a reviewer. The book came out in 2014 and there's no word of a sequel that I've seen, but I doubt I'd be interested in it if there were a sequel. I gave The Kept two stars at GoodReads.

I'm now reading the next story in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall. It's called A Fugitive Green. It's not all that interesting to me, but I'll keep reading. I'm more than halfway through Seven Stones, so I may as well finish it.

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I've purchased several more songs for my iPod since my last entry.

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I went to Hagan-Stone Park a few weeks ago and took pictures. I'll post those in another blog entry.


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Photo Finally, Pippin and the New Vet, Loki, and Books

I became an Ancestry.com member several years ago and have found pictures of all of my great-grandparents (and some 2nd and 3rd great-grandparents) since becoming a member, except for my paternal grandma's dad. (Though the picture I have of my paternal grandma's mom was sent to me through email from my dad a year or two before he died in 2006.) I had contacted a few Tracy second and third cousins through Ancestry (DNA matches) and Facebook and either they told me they had one and didn't share it with me or, in most cases, I heard nothing from them. Until recently.

A Tracy third cousin I contacted through Ancestry sent me a scanned picture of my great-grandpa Tracy a couple weeks ago. It's not the best quality, but I'm just glad to finally have a picture of him. Most of his sons are in the picture with him. I wish I had pictures of the rest of his children. I have pictures of my grandma, of course, but I'd love to have some of her when she was young. I have pictures of my maternal grandma when she was a teenager. I love seeing those.

Great-grandpa Tracy, seated. Standing, left to right: Dick, Howard, Ray, Jim, and Billy.

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I brought Pippin to the vet on Tuesday. He was a few months passed due for a check-up. The vet I used to bring our pets to closed in November. Another vet's office contacted me through email because someone who used to work at the old vet's office (Karen, from England) had our pets' records. They said they would send me the records or I could use them as our vet if I hadn't found a new one yet. I figured it'd be easier to try them since they already have the records. Plus, it takes about the same amount of time to get to them as it did the old vet.

Anyway, they were crazy busy when we were there. The appointment was for 4:30 and we didn't get out of there until after 6:00. :-/ They said Pip looks good and his heart sounds good. Blood work showed some elevated values with his kidneys. They weren't able to get urine (Pip had gone pee before we left the house), so I need to get that to them or bring him back to get some so they can check.

Milo's appointment is in 10 days. He hasn't been in a few years, so he really needs to go. Then I'll try to take Loki.

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Speaking of Loki, I've been a little obsessed with the Marvel character Loki lately. I'm actually not big into the Marvel movies, though I've seen them all once or twice. (Except for the newest one, which I refuse to watch because SPOILER!!! [highlight to read] Loki dies in it.) But I am big into Loki. Sure he's considered a villain, but I say he's not bad, just misunderstood. Abandoned and left to die as a baby by his real father, didn't really fit in in Asgard, not loved the same by his peers as they loved Thor, not really treated the same as Thor by his adoptive father Odin. Loki told Thor that he just wanted to be his equal. He cried when he said that to Thor and he cried when he was talking to Odin about who and what he really is. Poor Loki.

lol

So, I've recently bought a Loki T-shirt, two Loki Funko Pop key chains (one from Thor: Ragnarok and one with the horned helmet), a Loki Funko Pop figure (from Thor: Raganarok), and a Loki action figure (from Thor: Ragnarok). I want to get the Funko Pop of Loki in the horned helmet next. If I can't find it in stores I'll order it. I also want to get a Loki sticker (his helmet) for my car. :-D

Loki shirt I ordered from Hot Topic. I'm wearing it right now. :-)

And I've been visiting a Tumblr called Daily Loki. I go through about ten pages a day of gifs and fan art. I'm on page 91 right now. Don't know how many pages there are.

I watched the first Thor movie last night. (Thursday night.) I had only seen it once when it came out several years ago and couldn't remember much about the Loki scenes. I'm doing a watch of only the Marvel movies that Loki is in. The Avengers is next, then Thor: The Dark World, and then Thor: Ragnarok. Avengers: Infinity War is the next and most recent, but as I said earlier, I refuse to watch it. I'll probably watch the next Avengers movie though.

Yes, I know. How geeky of me. lol

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I finished reading After You by Jojo Moyes a couple weeks ago (I gave it 3 stars at GoodReads) and started reading The Martian by Andy Weir. I haven't gotten far with that one. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas came out May 1st and I started reading it May 4th. I'm on page 57 in that one. I'm liking both books, but I've been falling asleep before I can get far. Reading tends to make me sleepy. One of the reasons it usually takes me about a month to read a book.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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