It's A Rainy Day Out

The dog is unusually quiet on her bed and the house is very still. It seems we're both mourning in our own ways.

My friend and neighbor died yesterday morning. I'll miss her, but in a way, I'm glad it happened this way. I couldn't stand seeing her so weak. This stroke had taken way too much out of her and she would have had to go to a nursing home. She lived on her own right up until the end and even at 86, she was still too fierce and independent to live away from her home and her pets.

She was one of those eccentric old ladies, which I suppose will happen to anyone stubborn enough to live alone in an area that has gone through some amazing and dangerous times - but she had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever met. She loved her pets (and there were a lot of them) and she was not afraid to tell anyone what she thought, but she was still a lady who wore a hat to church. She always proper and dressed up whenever we had her over for dinner, wearing her bright pink jacket and her jewelry everytime - but she liked a bit of whiskey now and then too. She was deeply religious, but not so serious that she wouldn't laugh and wink at me when I told her that the priest who visited her in the hospital was pretty cute. She would give me hell if I didn't prune my trees on time, but she'd also call and remind me to move my car on street cleaning days or even to sing "Happy Birthday" to me. And yes, sometimes she drove me crazy as do all the people we love the most, I'm sure I did the same to her. She also loved flowers - one of my orchids is blooming, so this is for her. I'm going to miss her terribly.