In the Dark.

July 31, 2010 Woofs & Whiskers last day.

I'm heading into the shop today with a happy heart. I know I am doing what is right for me at this point in my life. So we all get to the store and I walk in, go to the front to turn on the lights and Oops, no lights. I go next door to see if they have electricity. In the last 2 weeks it's gone off twice due to the heavy storms in the area...Yep they have lights. I have to use Morgan-Gerard's phone to call BGE. They have a turn-off order for he 31st. I won't even go into the conversation I had with the BGE employee 2 weeks ago cancelling service on the 1st because I would be open on the 31st and I would need service until 4pm that day..... anyway, they would not be able to turn it back on until Tuesday. NEVER MIND.

Not having lights is one thing, but I have no phone, no credit card machine, no register, no fax, no air and now my happy heart is copping an attitude. Luckily for all of us it was a beautiful day and I opened all the windows and we had a lovely breeze. By the end of the day, 3 friends that could not reach me by phone came in to say good-bye, my sister Kris came by to make sure I was okay, and Donna called me at home from Florida letting me know she was thinking about me all day. My happy heart is back, I know I am loved.

Blue Without You

With 2 days left at Woofs & Whiskers it seems that everyone who ever came into the store has stopped by to tell me how much they will miss Harper and I. I put on a happy face and tell them "It's all good, I'm closing because I'm ready for my next adventure". Of course they all want to know what that's going to be. I let them know I'm going to travel for a while

and see where the wind blows me. It's the pups that are really going to be "BLUE".

Yes... the Groomer colored her dog in memory of me. Poor thing. His name is Chewy, I am calling him Bluey.

Changes Are Coming

It never ceases to amaze me how much life can change in such a short time. Those of you with small children certainly see it everyday. My changes are nothing as dramatic as some are, but in my little world they are major. A year ago I had a booming business, a very special someone in my life, a home that I loved and a very good friend to walk dogs with. All that has changed now except my home, but I'm not so sure I love it in Annapolis anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I am actually one of those people that thrive on change.
I've been wondering what in the world I was going to do with all my excess inventory. I finally cleaned my garage out, just to refill it with pieces from my mom's house. I was dreading putting all the extra store stuff in there as well. I was imagining myself on ebay in my basement for the rest of my life. Uuugghhh! The owner of "The Grooming Salon" down the street came in on Tuesday and said, "Whatever you don't sell, I'll buy". OMG!! Can you believe it!! Thank you Baby Jesus.

Om Ar Hung

I have started a Tibetan Buddhist Meditation class. There are probably as many schools of thought on meditation as there are people in the universe. I have done meditation before, but I never had the discipline to make it part of my daily routine. I don't know what makes me think that this class will be different.

So here I am, week 2 of TBM and we are focusing on our breathing and mind. Inhale through the nose Om, let the air flow through Ar, exhale through the nose Hung. After 5 minutes of this, I am in a very peaceful state. It is impossible to think of anything else when you are so completely concentrating on breathing and Om, Ar, Hung. In with the good air, out with the bad.

Next... everyone is to concentrate on an emotion. I pick happiness. If I want to concentrate on anger or sadness I can call a family member. This is my "Happy Place". The women next to me just buried her husband yesterday, and of course, focuses on sadness. By minute 2 she begins crying and her sniffling is disrupting my "Happy Place". After the 5 minutes we have a question/answer period. The big cry baby begins to tell the story of losing her husband and my "Happy Place" is beginning to build a resentment wall. Now don't get me wrong. I am very sympathetic to losing a loved one, but don't they have a grief management group for that? I am here to find relaxation, sort of a respite from the real world. If I want to hear sad stories I can stay at work for an extra hour, or go back to AA meetings. Anyway 3 more weeks for "Enlightenment".

Emotional Roller Coaster

There are times in my life where thing seem to just flow, then there are other times where I just can't seem to catch my breath. There is so much going on in my life now that I feel like my plate is overflowing. With Donna leaving I feel this overwhelming sadness, but I also feel selfish for that sadness. I know this new start for Donna is something she has wanted for sometime now, and I also know she will flourish because of it... and because of that, I am thrilled for her.

Woofs & Whiskers now has an "Everything Must Go" sign up and I have 2 more weeks until the doors are closed for good. A very good friend of mine came in last week and I cried on his shoulder about Donna and Winslow leaving that morning. He just said, "Terry, it's like the sign says, everything must go". Richard has a way about him that is both spiritual and realistic, that statement pretty much summed up past, present and future all in one.

Farewell My Friend

Donna left this morning to start her new volume. When you reach our age and leave everything that you have known for the last 25 years, it's not just a new chapter, it's a volume. Harper and I met Winslow and Donna down at the neighborhood gazebo for our last round of chucking tennis balls. It is so sad to say goodbye to someone who has become a real friend, so I didn't. I told her to be safe and that I would see her in September. As I headed to work I looked towards her home and the familiar red truck was gone, I stopped and bought some chocolate and called my older sister to cry. Donna is now on her way to my younger sister to start her healing. Thank God for sisters.

Dog Days of Summer

I am trying to get as much Donna time in as possible before she heads south. A mutual friend of ours has a pool and has given us both an open invitation to drop by whenever we feel like it. She has a boyfriend with a house at the beach, so she is rarely there on weekends. Donna and I packed up the dogs a had a great day of sunshine. It was the day before the 100 degrees hit and it could not have been nicer out.

Just Another Joint

After dinner we headed to the jam session. I was anxious to hear some of the talent that I was told came far and wide for this get together. What I wasn't aware of was the location that all this talent was to gather for our listening pleasure. It was the "Democratic Club" in Eastport. I have been to some joints in my day, but never sober. I truly believe that some places are better seen in double, this place was not one of them. It is one of those places that is really dark. The only light came from the register, the classy hanging Budweiser pool table light or from matches lighting up cancer sticks. I got through half a glass a water, watched Donna and Tracy play half a game of pool and thanked the Baby Jesus I had my own car. Some times reading is just more fun, but you gotta play to win.

Eat, Drink and be Terry

We decide before the jam session, we'll get a bite to eat at "The Boatyard Grill".

The Boatyard is a great local pub in Eastport. Tracy decides she would like to eat at the bar. If it's just 2 people I love eating at the bar, but with 4 the conversation generally breaks off in pairs. It did.

Having been a bartender at one junction in my life, I love to watch bartender/customer interaction. Well Tracy decided to order Donna a Stoli vodka gimlet, straight up, but asked in her best flirty little girl way if he would use fresh squeezed lime instead of Rose's lime juice. He was very cordial and said since it wasn't busy it would be no problem, he asked if Tracy would like one as well. "No thank-you". Being a vodka gimlet drinker from way back, I know the difference between fresh squeezed and Rose's is like night and day. So the bartender painstakingly chills the glass, pours the Stoli over crushed ice and squeezes two lime halves to make what looks like the perfect Vodka Gimlet with pulp. Yummy!! The minute the bartender put it down in front of Donna, Tracy said she'd like one as well. Good thing my bartender days are behind me.

Girls Night Out.

I have not gone out lately, especially on a school night, but when Kae called and said a group was getting together to go listen to some great bands in Annapolis and Crofton, I said cout me in. I am one of those people that thinks something sounds really good when told about it, but when the time comes I would really just rather stay home and read. This time I did not back out because there won't be too many more girls night out that include Donna. After coming home from work and getting all the dogs settled, freshening myself up...I go to start up the Smart Car (aka Scout) and find the battery dead. It's been awhile since we've been out.

Well... I figure I'll get her out of the driveway and try to jump start her. NOT!

I walk to Donna's, and wait for the others to show up. Now we have 2 single women, 1 soon to be divorced, and 1 who lives in a separate home from her husband, but is still married....How many girls does it take to jump a car? One if you know where the battery is.

!

Where would you put a battery on a Smart Car? Not in the back, barely enough room for the engine there. In the front then, what front? Where else is there? Under the passenger floor mat. Who didn't know that?

We all know red=positive, black=negative, but do you start the charging car before attaching the cables to the dead battery. We all decided since my hair was the straightest I would be in charge of attachment. Ta-Da it started on the 2nd try, once I figured out what part of the battery to attach the cable to. Trust me when I tell you, you have never seen a smaller battery.