The Widow Chronicles Part V - Say Hello To My Little Friend!

And now for a long overdue happy post!! Please allow me to introduce little Savannah, the latest addition to Clan Kavanagh!

About 10 days ago I got a cryptic call from my friend Rachel to say she had found a stray dog in our street playing with the traffic and could I come help as she didn't know what to do with her. Intrigued, I postponed my busy afternoon of back to back episodes of Boardwalk Empire and went to investigate. 

What I found was very sweet confused chihuahua with a ratty collar, no tags and claws that would have made Wolverine jealous! Not knowing what to do, we fashioned a makeshift leash and took her for a walk round the neighborhood to see if anyone recognized her or if she would recognize her home, but had no success. 

We thought for sure that when the after-work crowd hit the park at the end of the street to walk their dogs someone would recognize her as it is a very dog friendly area and everyone knows everyone, but no-one could help.

I offered to keep her overnight rather than taking her to a dog home, and we put up posters around the park and the neighborhood to see if anyone was looking for her. I certainly wasn't planning on keeping her at that stage, but as one night turned into five nights we started to bond and I began to think that maybe a puppy was just the distraction I need right now!

We kept the posters up over the weekend but got no response, and on the Monday I took her to the vet to see if she had a micro chip, which I was very happy to find that she did not! 

Despite the signs of neglect, she is really well behaved and has obviously had some training as we have had no toilet accidents in the house and she is (mostly) very calm and has quickly made herself at home. If I were to pick a dog for myself I probably wouldn't have chosen a chihuahua, but she has all the personality traits I would look for so we are a perfect match!

Having Savannah has been really good for me as she has put some structure back in my day and given me a purpose again. I am getting up at a reasonable hour instead of lying in bed til lunchtime, going to bed at a reasonable hour rather than staying up til 2 or 3am watching tv, getting out of the house 4 times a day where before days could go by before I saw outside, and she is wonderful company, whether we are just curled up on the sofa or chasing balls around the kitchen. She is without a doubt the best thing to happen to me this year!

Lousy timing though as I am off to Scotland tomorrow for three weeks! Luckily Rachel is a dog lover too and will be taking care of Savannah for most of my trip - thanks Rachel!! I am a little worried though, as by the time I get back she will have lived with Rachel for longer than she has lived with me and she might decide she prefers to stay!! I have told Rachel that I will be expecting regular Skype dates with my puppy while I am away, and I plan to leave a photo of me beside her bed so she doesn't forget about me!!!

Well, on that note I should probably go start on my packing as I am notorious for running around at the last minute throwing forgotten things into my suitcase, but I think we all know how I will really be spending my day ...... WOOF!! 

The Widow Chronicles Part IV - The Scottish Memorial

OK folks, here are the details of the Scottish memorial. It will be held on Saturday March 1st at 2.30pm in Dundonald Parish Church, near Troon. Here is a link to Google maps for directions. 

After the service we will be going next door to the Montgomerie Hall for a buffet and wine. If you are not a wine drinker you may want to bring your own beverage of choice, and we can talk about getting you some therapy at some point of the afternoon!

We will have the hall til 8pm and, in the spirit of the California memorial and at Peter's request, we will be making this a celebration of his life rather than a sorrowful affair. So, no traditional funeral attire please - think happy and fun colours, and gentlemen are welcome to wear their kilts if they feel that way inclined (I don't get to see too many kilted men these days!). His mother and I would also like to hear the hall full of laughter so please get your best memories and stories ready!

Parking will be limited around the church, I'm afraid, so you may want to car pool if you know other people who are planning to come, and get there early and perhaps be prepared to walk a little.

I think that about covers it. If you have any questions please feel free to either post it in the comments section, or Facebook or email me. 

Circumstances aside, I am looking forward to seeing you all on the 1st and honouring my beloved husband in the way he deserves - with love, laughter and lots of wine! 

The Widow Chronicles Part III - Milestones

It's been a funny old month since I wrote last. There have been a lot of fun times peppered with some very quiet days with nothing to do and lots of time to dwell on my loss, and on these days it has been very hard to motivate myself to do anything positive or productive. I have also experienced the first of my Post-Peter milestones which were a bit strange but thankfully not as traumatic as they could have been. 

First up was my birthday at the beginning of the month. My wonderful friends made a huge effort to help me celebrate with a week full of activities, and while I definitely had a lot of fun it didn't really feel like a birthday without him. The best gift I received this year was a visit from my dear dear friends from Scotland, Lynsey & Kieran, and they provided a perfect distraction! It was so wonderful to have a chance to catch up with them properly, and we packed their week with lots of drinking and pizza and laughing, and sadly for Kieran a wee bout of food poisoning :-(

Next up was Valentine's Day. Now, Peter and I never really celebrated Valentine's Day - going out for dinner always seemed such a con as the restaurants were always over-booked serving over-priced restricted menus, so we would usually stay in and spend the money on a couple of nice steaks or a takeaway and a really good bottle of wine. Once again, though, I was fortunate enough to have a perfect distraction in the shape of the lovely Chika & Casey who came round to entertain me with some deeeelicious wine, and a small adorable stray chihuahua that Rachel had found playing with the traffic outside our complex and I had agreed to look after while we tried to find her owner (more on her later).

I won't lie, I did get a bit tipsy and weepy later on that night, but my new canine buddy did a grand job of cheering me up - it was quite hard to stay sad with that adorable face staring up at me!!

The third milestone was a less formal one and really caught me by surprise - my first concert without him. Last Thursday I went to see Imagine Dragons, and while they were bloody brilliant, it was hard to fully get into the night. My mind kept straying to how much he would have enjoyed it, how much I would like to have told him all about it when I got home, and then all the brilliant times that we had had at concerts together over the years. 

Randomly, the concert was the milestone that upset me the most, but I guess I'm going to have to get used to that as our life together was full of happy memories and fun times that we had together and unless I plan on becoming a hermit (nae chance!) I will come across more and more of these as the year goes on. Hopefully they will get easier, and perhaps I can at least be a little more prepared in future!

That's pretty much all I have to say for now. I think the puppy deserves a post all to herself so I will tell you all about her in a day or two - we're off to the vet tomorrow to get her checked out and make sure she is healthy so hopefully I will have happy news there! I will also post full details and directions for Peter's Scottish memorial, which is happening on Saturday March 1st, as soon as I have them confirmed. 

Right, I'm off to make some lunch. Catch y'all later!! x