I can't believe it but I am writing about another person who died in my life. what a year this has been. My Aunt Evelyn has been very ill a long time. Her memorial and burial will be in California. She did not live close to me but shared my birthday. She was a dear person though and I am glad God took her to heaven. My love and prayers are with her children and grandchildren. She was sick in a nursing home several years. The times she visited I knew her to be very kind, fun, and interesting to talk to. She will be missed though everyone is glad she finally let go and is at peace. She did not even retire till she was 79. She worked in a medical office. She use to write us a lot when she couldn't visit. My dad died young at 59 over 27 years ago. He was the only boy with five sisters. He has one sister still living in town here.

Emma had an interesting day. we went swimming as normal and then i went to my test. My husband dropped me off rather than wait in the waiting room a few hours. He said Emma was not a happy camper. When he left and went to his own medical office to make an appt and check on something - he said she kept looking for me. The nurses called him when I was almost done. When they arrived they let both Greg and Emma come back to recovery. Emma greeted me warmly. She didn't leave my side the rest of the day.

Emma enjoyed a nap with me. Like always ha ha. The medication left me pretty sleepy and dizzy. later we played outside and also went for a walk. I am always glad to go out for a walk (me in the scooter) in the evening. I like that time of day and the weather was perfect. I like greeting neighbors if they are outside. We went by the park and watched some young children learning to play baseball. I do miss those days when my kids were on teams. Though with four kids our schedule at times was pretty busy.

When I got home I was still groggy and slept a few hours. Emma had to kiss me awake from my nap after the procedure today. It was so cute. She must have licked me nearly head to toe. i kept saying just 5 more minutes. She was already one hour late for dinner and most persistent. Truthfully I didn't mind as I needed to get up so I could sleep tonight.

We are ready for bed. Emma sure brightens up my days but other peoples' to. She generates so many smiles when she is out in public. I can't imagine life without her.

Let's go to bed Emma.....mary
Have a good day. PS the Endoscopy was painless and seemed so quick.

Emma and I went with Greg for a quick trip to Target and then we were home. We played in the yard and our usual nap. In the evening we had something to drop off at our son's so took sophia (my granddaughter) and got Dairy Queens for all. We ate outside with the two dogs.

How fun. They sell little "puppy cups". A small cup of ice cream for the dog, complete with the dog bisquits on top. Just enough to treat a dog. Both Emma and thier dog Lily were delighted. The dogs also got along very very well. It was Lily's turf but we stayed outside. She and Emma played a bit - both were leashed but they enjoyed being together. I can't wait to try it in our fenced yard. emma is so much bigger than little Lily (the cutest beagle in the world) but they did just fine. That was great.

I bought some bibs as my first purchase for the grandbaby to come in November. Tia has baby items from Sophia and maybe a cousin but it still is fun to buy some new things. Sophia is six and seems to be growing like a weed. She is the most darling girl. I know I am the grandma. Tia is such a good mother and nice person. It is fun to see my son with his family. He seems so happy.

Monday, My test goes about two hours including preparation and recovery. Emma will be with Greg and I think that will go fine. She is familar with him. I am only a little nervous about it all. I am having an endoscopy. I had one like twenty years ago (that makes me feel old). All I remember is I have a strong gag reflex that made it hard to get the tube down my throat. My doctors are skilled and I am sure will work fine with it. The test is to examine my stomach and part of my intestines due to problems I am having.

I am off to bed. I wish I knew the words to explain how cute it was to see Lily and Emma play. The size difference is observable but they still had fun. Maybe when Lily comes here I can take a picture for the blog. I should see if I can borrow my son's camera and take one of Emma outdoors.

We did drive past Victory Memorial Drive in Mpls. I grew up not far from there. A tree was planted for MN vets who died in WWI. Plaques are by the trees. My son had not seen it on Memorial Day with flags at each tree. It was moving to think of the vets from all the wars. In my prayers are the families of those who died, but also those who were injured. Seeing all those flags reminded me of the sacrifices and risks men and women in uniform make for us all.

Have a good Monday, mary and Emma

The weather is hot here. It is 95 with a breeze that makes you feel like you are in a clothes dryer. Emma didn't even want to run much in the yard - though we were outside. She grabbed her toys and headed for the shade. See, I told you she was very very smart.
The neighbor kids are out with their swimming pool (the blow up type) and that was fun to observe.

MS is making me tired. Emma cuddled up with me and we took a super long nap. I didn't feel good enough to go to church. she is watching me like a hawk and be an excellent companion on a quiet restful day.

Last night we went to the movie "Failure to Launch". It is silly but was a good break from life's worries. There is a cheap theater by here. It does not have a handicapped section like the newer theater. I like that one better for Emma. There is a place we can sit, and she can look around more. Her behavior was good at this one too. She moved around a bit and you could hear her tags - the lady in front turned around and said "is that a dog". She was surprised as we entered late. Emma showed good behavior.

My husband is still off work so home on a Sunday night = that is different for him/us.
Since it is warm outside he is doing chores inside and boy do I appreciate his help.
Emma and I folded some clothes, I don't know if we will get much else done. I need to take it easy when the MS makes me this tired or it just gets worse.

Many of you wrote and saw Tiga's puppies. I am sure Judy and her family are busy but enjoying them. Remember you can email me if you want me to forward them to you.

We are not far from a beach and places I think I can bring Emma to swim. i will have to check on their restrictions. One has lots of access to shoreline that is not a public beach. I know right now the water would be pretty cold. I don't know much about when temperature wise, it is good to take a dog swimming.

Hope you have/had a good day. We will head outside again when it is not so warm to play. For almost 20 years I didn't have air conditioning in my whole house but now I need it with MS. On days like this I wonder how I coped. My kids were young at they had their kids swimming pool, I would let them splash me as it felt good to get wet or we would go to the beach. I sure had more energy at that time.

A quiet day so not much to write. Emma is doing fine. Mary
maw40@comcast.net

The CAt - Madera who chooses to stay mostly on the lower level is lonesome. Becky is in Spain and it is her favorite hangout. It used to be Anna's room and she moved out. Well gosh the kitty (really she is an old cat) is crying a lot. Mary went down to play with her and makes sure she has water and food. She is scared of me so I stayed upstairs on the main level. I didn't even bug her when we went down there to go out the patio door to play outside.

Danny is home so that is good. But Madera prefers the girl bedroom to where he sleeps and whines a lot. That cat would not be a good service dog - she whines too much. She stops right away if mary or someone goes down to play, brush her, or pet her. But not too long and it starts again. Today it is getting annoying to me. I don't whine after all - of course I can be by Mary all the time.

Mary might put on some music or something to soothe the cat. Becky left their favorite pillow out nicely on the bed to snuggle up to. Phillips is smarter she comes up when she is lonesome. Though sometimes she likes to sit in my favorite spots in the house.

We haven't seen the mouse so don't know if he/she was smart and headed outdoors or is just good at hiding. Becky is hoping we solve that problem before she comes back. We heard she got safely to madrid. Her plane got delayed - the plan was Mpls to Chicago to Madrid. Due to bad weather Chicago was not open for them to go. The three hour delay goofed it all up. She went from mpls to chicago, to london, to Brussels, to Madrid. Mary said good thing it wasn't her(us). I wonder if Mary will take me on a plane sometime like Judy did?

I better go see what Mary is doing. I know I have some cat lovers in the crowd so thought this would interest you. mary and family are trying hard to help the cat deal with Becky being gone.

Love to all, Emma

Several of you enjoyed the puppy pictures. You can email me and I can forward to you in a different manner if you have problems.

It is a hot hot hot weekend here. Hot by my standards anyway but nice and sunny. Emma and I don't have plans. Last night I went to bed very early and I needed that. We will play in the yard and go into the air conditioned house when I need to renew myself.

This morning Emma got the measuring cups I use for her dog food off the counter (I had left them out) and brought them to me when she was hungry. They are bright yellow and used only for that purpose. She knows how to be creative when she wants to remind me it is time for her to eat. She keeps me amused.

We did some laundry. Picked up a bit. If my energy allows, I have some things I want to sort through in a neglected closet. My extra bedroom/office seems to accumulate things and needs tending to. a project Emma and I will tackle today. I am sure we will have a nap too.

I do find I like sunny days. My brother lives near Portland Oregon and has adjusted to lots of cloudy days. He loves it out there. It is fun to visit but I am not so sure I could live without sun. It would be great to be able to take a day trip to the Ocean however. I fell in love with the ocean. How awesome. He is coming in July for a visit, we are thrilled. My mom will really enjoy that.

Hope you have a good day. Stay cool and hope you have time to relax. Mary and Emma

maw40@comcast.net