"On the plains of Oklahoma, with a windshield sunset in your eyes like a watercolor painted sky, you'd think heavens doors have opened."
Fly Over States



Thursday, December 11, 2008

Jezebel Came Home, Today

The day started out okay. I am hoping to hear that the breeder has puppies and that gives me a reason to get excited about getting out of bed. No news, yet, but it can't be too long.

Evelyn has been very sweet and has been asking for cuddling - which thrills me to death.




If I wake up at night, I get up and go lay down next to her on the floor for a few minutes and we both love that. Husband discovered I was doing this and is afraid I will get pneumonia - but I won't. It is one thing to pet a dog on the head and scratch behind its ears or on its shoulder blades or chest. Laying down next to it takes it to a whole different level. She is responding.

Had a pretty upbeat morning. I took a picture of one of my Christmas wallhangings to share:


Someone commented about my boots so in between calls, this morning, I took pictures of most of my collection. All I wear to work are cowboy boots - summer AND winter. The bailiffs seem to enjoy guessing what boots I will be wearing on a given day.

Here are my Lucchese burgandy boots:


They are tall so they go well with long skirts. The picture does not do justice to how pretty they are.

These are my Lucchese kangaroo skin shorties:


I LOVE my shorties - they are comfortable and rough. I don't usually wear them to work unless there is snow or ice and I feel like I have a good excuse to go rugged.

Here are my pride and joy - my ridiculously expensive Paul Bond Boots:


We actually flew out to Tucson and drove to the border town to get these done. They fit like a dream and I got to design them - even picked out the actual skins. I was going for a traditional look. I had them put in "true blue" hearts in lucky horseshoes (we keep lucky horseshoes on the mantel). I especially like the scalloped tops. I should probably be buried in them but perhaps it would better if my kids sold them on ebay so they'd get an inheritance.

Here is the front:


Here are my fancy red Lucchese boots:


I wear these a lot with pants because they have a black bottom. They are really too short for me to feel comfortable wearing with skirts.

Here are my Buffalo hide Stewart boots:


I don't actually wear these much. I had them custom made and they fit perfectly but the material is so heavy and stiff that I just never wear them. If I were out working cattle these are the ones to wear!

Here are my black Billy Martins:


These are the ones I was wearing that I posted about a couple of days ago.

Here is the group:


It looks like I have a lot but I still have a cheap black pair in my closet. Husband has about thirty pairs. His current favorite is the elephant skin. It is so tough that bullets would bounce off those bad boys (he says they are comfortable).

I think it is ridiculous to spend more than $50.00 for footwear and had to "put my foot down" because he kept buying me more.

Here are the ones I wear most of the time:



I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon but right before I left, we got a call from the vet to come pick up Jezebel's remains. So I have been crying most of the afternoon. Husband wanted me to let him go pick them up (he thought it would be too emotionally taxing for me) but I insisted I'd do it. She was my girl and doing the hard stuff comes with doing the easy stuff.

I was still weeping when I got to the doctor's office (the one that is used to only male patients - probably freaked him out). He was very nice. We ended up discussing whether I should "go silver," i.e., dye my hair silver ala Emmy Lou Harris. Looking back, I realize he must have really been humoring me. He lost his good dog last year. If you want to know if someone has lost a pet, tell them yours died. It is always close to the surface.

The original plan would be that if every looked good, I'd come back to the doctor in three months. He decided I could come back in a year. I'm thinking I scared him badly enough that he wanted to put off dealing with an emotional female patient as long as he could, short of malpractice. At least he did not refer me to a psychologist.

I brought home Jezebel in her nice little cherry wood box. Good lord, I am going to start crying, again. I will spare you a picture - that is just a little too gruesome even for me. It is just like the one we got for Sapphire (same company). Jezebel's is heavier. Hmm. Sapphire outweighed Jezebel by about 10 pounds. Water weight? I have lots of suspicions about crematoriums. I had similar thoughts when they cremated each of my parents. Really, you don't know what you are getting. Or rather, what you are getting back. I think I will just not think about that too much.

This is a precious condolence card that a friend sent:


Check out those white paws holding the flower.

Here is our little sweetie:




If I hear anything about puppies, I'll let you know. This would really be a good day to have some happy puppy news.

7 comments:

Pam said...

It's a full moon, Penny! I used to work on a maternity ward, and I swear there is something about that full moon that makes those little Mommas just pop! It won't be long now, I'm sure.
I know, it's just awful picking up those ashes and wondering about what is in there. We even brought our Bean's ashes on vacation with us that first year. It just wasn't the same...I didn't do that again!
Looking forward to puppy news! (Hoping they have a puppy cam) Also, your quilt is just beautiful.
Pam

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your boot pictures - I wear cheap black ones when I wear a suit, which isn't often. They beat wearing high heels any day of the week.
My fingers are crossed that you'll hear about the new puppy real soon.

Janet

Pati said...

Miss Mollie, my English Mastiff, watches over me in my studio. She is in a gorgeous Oak box. She was my protector and friend for many years. She was my last Christmas present from my husband before he passed away in 1992.

jacquie said...

who knew you were a boot, girl! glad jezebel is home again.

Anonymous said...

Love all of your boots especially the red Lucchese boots. Nice!
I didn't know a pet could be cremated and the ashes brought home. I wasn't given that option when my dog died, but think it would have been good closure.
Hope the puppy comes soon!
Sara

Sherry said...

LOL I just showed your boots pics to DH. I told him that you were a child advocate and boots were all you wore...even in court.

He looked at me and smiled. Turned to walk out. Stopped. Looked at me and asked, "Boots are
'all' she wears? Even in court?"

I sure hope you aren't arrested because of my statement. ;o)

Lady Beekeeper said...

Sherry -

MEN!! If the boots were "all" I wore to court, there would be a run on the emergency rooms because of people gouging out their eyes!!