A Wonderful Sister Visit

Sis was here for a few days. She comes up to the farm for a short, rest-filled getaway. We love having her visit. Carl is always so excited to see her. Sis is his third favorite person in the whole world and that's OK with her. Wherever she goes he is right behind her. She loves dogs, having three of her own, and I think she would have more if her hubby would agree.
As if Carl didn't get enough attention around here..., he becomes "the little heartbeat at (her) feet" (that Edith Wharton writes about) when Sis is here. If she takes a nap, he's right there cuddled beside her. If she sit down on the sofa to read, watch TV or talk, he's in her lap. If she takes a walk with us, he's at the door waiting for HER to put his leash on and keeps looking at her as if to say.., " Come on now. Let's go. You're coming too aren't you?..., Please." It's mutual admiration with these two. He's such a ladies man.
I have no problem finding Carl when Sis is here. He's always with her. It's kind of a symbiotic relationship. Each one loves the other and they seem to speak the same language. Sometimes I think that she would like to take him home with her, but that's just not possible. Our lives would not be the same without the pupster. We just love him. He's a very special little being and he knows where the food is.



On Friday Sis and I went to Sutter Creek. Saturday we drove over to Amador City, my favorite foothill town, pictured above and on Sunday we went down into Jackson. Each day we would leave in the late morning, have lunch, spend a couple of hours shopping in our favorite stores and then come home in time to take a nap before dinner. You see...,when folks gets older they have to conserve energy and find that the "Shop till you drop" motto just doesn't cut it anymore. It's more like "Why the heck am I doing this to myself." and "My body is telling me it's time to go home." So..., because my sister and I are 58 and 65 years old now, we do things in moderation. It's called self preservation.
We love going to our favorite stores like Country Living in Amador City and Yesterday's Heirlooms in Sutter Creek and a few others. It's kind of a ritual now. On Sunday we drove into Jackson and, in spite of the weather which has turned to wind and rain, we spent a few hours looking through the Antique stores.
Now you would think that after last year, with all the sorting and clearing of Mom's things, that we wouldn't be shopping for ANTIQUES or anything else for that matter. I really can't explain this. It must be hereditary or a genetic thing. With no space left, ANYWHERE in my house, I will still find one more wonderful, can't live without it, "It's got my name on it" item that seems to appear on a shelf or in a corner somewhere in one of these shops. I can rationalize this in many ways but the bottom line is that I love to find something beautiful that can be used again, repurposed, refinished or just fixed. I will just have to take more OLD things to the Thrift shops so that I have room for the NEW things.
In my defense, I only bought lunch on Friday. Nothing else. So I CAN control these urges. On Saturday and Sunday I was very careful and tomorrow I will show you what I found. I will even tell you what I paid for my wonderful acquisitions. This is an obsession. I know this, but it's OK and I know that a lot of you out there understand. Don't you?..., or do you think I need a 12 step program?

Sis left this morning. She thought she was going to beat the worst part of the storm but I think she drove down into it. Just after she left the wind picked up and the rain started again. It has never stopped.
Carl is sad and must be a bit annoyed. He went into our bedroom after Sis left and chewed a hole in Maggie's bed, strewed pieces of foam rubber all over the place. Then he went into the living room and curled up in the blanket that he and Sis had cuddled in all weekend. It must still have her fragrance lingering in it. Now he's asleep.
Come back soon, Sis. Carl is making his feelings very clear. He misses you all ready. So do I.....