Since some of our family has trouble downloading pictures we send in emails, we have established this website to post pictures. We hope that will make it easier for everyone to share our lives from afar. Also for more dog information and pictures, go to www.dandygoldens.org.
March 25, 2010
If you're one of the few that find this site, you'll notice that I hadn't updated it for over a year. What a year! November 26, 2008 my dad died and December 28, 2009 my mom died. Those two events, and everything leading up to those events, kept me in Texas weeks at a time, over and over. I'm so glad I was able to do that. Sometimes Sam and the dogs would come with me, but more often they stayed home. July 4, 2008, is when Dad had his first stroke, with various things happening over the next year and a half. Mom was in the process of moving to San Antonio after selling her house in Beeville when her sickness became obvious. She had a blood disorder that lead to total bone marrow failure. She chose to spend her last two weeks in hospice care in her home. I spent those two weeks by her side.
Also in those 13 months we lost our two oldest Goldens, Louie and Cheznie. For those of you who are not "dog people" that's no big deal. But those of you who love your dogs like we do, you know it's like losing two more family members. Louie died in February 2009 at 12 1/2 years of age, and his daughter, Cheznie, died in May 2009, at only 10 years old.
So, that's why I hadn't been updating this. Loads of other activities kept us busy, and this site took the hit. It's been almost three months since Mom's death, and life is getting back to normal for us. We came home from San Antonio January 4, and haven't been back since. We did get to go see Sam's dad in Jasper earlier this month. He's doing GREAT!
For other peeks into our life, check out the other sites I try to maintain: www.dandygoldens.org and www.goldenretrieverplaygroup.com.
August 19, 2009
August 11, 2009
Betsy
May 21, 2009
We lost Cheznie due to about three blood disorders. I can't even write about it, yet.
April 6, 2009
We're about to add a new dog to our family. Her call name is Betsy. She is ten months old now and has already been in the show ring at least twice, taking Reserve Winners Bitch in the 6-12 month puppy class. We get to pick her up on April 20 from Florida. We do plan to show her in conformation and hope to be able to get her championship. If she doesn't get it, it'll probably be my fault as a novice handler.
March 16, 2009
We made a trip to Beeville earlier this month, and stopped by Lloyd's on the way down. Here's a good picture of Sam, Lloyd, and his sister, Thelma.
We had a very sad thing to happen Monday, February 9, 2009--
we lost Louie at 12 1/2 years of age
For the last six months or so, he had been aging rather quickly, we thought. For a week before his death we knew something was wrong, and wondered if he had had a stroke. His eating habits were different, and his energy level was very much decreased. He didn't seem to be in any discomfort, though.
After a week of no marked improvement, Sam took him to the vet for observation. The first thing he noticed was that he seemed anemic, so he did blood work to confirm that. He was VERY anemic, so he had to determine WHY. He did an ultrasound and saw that he had a tumor in his spleen that had caused his spleen to burst. He said this was very bad news and that at his age, almost certainly the tumor was malignant and almost certainly had spread to other areas of his body.
Sam and I went down to the office to see Louie for the last time. We loved on him and cried, then continued to have our hands on him as the vet gave him his last treatment. Oh, it hurt so bad to lose him, but we could not bring him home and have him linger on to death. Sam will later write a tribute to Louie and we will post it here.
LOVE ON YOUR DOGS WHILE YOU HAVE THEM.
December 2, 2008
We had a sad event over Thanksgiving. My dad, Gordon Morrow, passed away on Wednesday, November 26, the day before Thanksgiving. He was 76. We celebrated his birthday October 22 with balloons, cake and presents.
Actually, there is much to be thankful for...that he no longer had to lay pretty helpless in the bed at the nursing home, that Mom no longer has to worry about him, that he has no pain and no discomfort, and that he is through with the troubles of this world.
July 4, 2007, he had a pretty massive stroke, but recovered nicely from that, walking with a cane. June 18 he had another stroke event, and never got to come home after that. He was at the hospital in Corpus Christi for four weeks, then came home to Beeville to the nursing home that is about half a mile from Mom and Dad's house. Mom had gone a couple of times a day for the last four months.
I had spent alot of time here since June: three weeks while he was in the hospital, then Sam and I came for a month during most of August, and I had been back for two weeks in October, before coming back Tuesday, November 25. We'll be here through the week, then Mom wants to spend some time on her own before coming to Mississippi to spend Christmas with us, Jason, and all of Dixie's family. She'll do fine. She's been letting him go since June. It's been a sad and trying summer and fall.
The pall bearers were grandsons and grandsons-in-law. Eric lead the songs and pretty much ran the funeral. He is such a fine minister. Paul, another grandson-in-law, officiated at the graveside. He is a youth minister in Round Rock. This family is so blessed with the next generation.
Dad was buried next to his mom and dad (and a ton of other Morrows) at Restlawn in La Feria, Texas. He leaves quite a legacy and a fine family who does a good job of taking care of each other and many other people.
September 28, 2009
I'm adding pictures of the new dog at the Livingston house. Her name is Gretchen. She is a very young Basset Hound. We drove up to Greenwood to the county shelter there and adopted her yesterday. She is very laid back, calm, and quiet...and so cute.
Still at the shelter...getting acquainted.
Dixie has wanted a Basset Hound for 20 years!!
Sitting on Sam.
At home at the Livingston house.
September 15, 2008
We got back on September 11 from several days in Galveston. We evacuated ahead of the storm. I added LOTS of pictures on the the Grandchildren page.
July 21, 2008
On June 18 my dad fell and had a brain bleed. He was taken to Spohn Shoreline in Corpus Christi. Sam and I went for a week, then Sam came home and I stayed for two more weeks. I've been home for a week or so and my brothers took care of Mom and Dad. Sam and I will go back later this week and stay a good long time. Dad is not doing well. On Monday last week, after being in the hospital for almost four weeks, he was moved to a nursing home in Beeville, Texas, with the goal being for him to get stronger and move to a rehab facility to recover and get back home. We're concerned that he will not ever make it home.
May 26, 2008
Sam and I took Darby to Gonzales, Louisiana, (near Baton Rouge) for a dog show Saturday, the 24th. She earned her third "leg" and now officially has her Rally Novice (RN) title!!
May 3, 2008
Check out the Grandchildren page for pictures.
February 4, 2008
We got to go see Jason for a few days. We got back Jan. 31.
Sam at the beach at Lake Worth.
Beautiful water!
The side of Jason's house early in the morning. He has a nice patio table for 6 just inside these hedges.
December 13, 2007
We finally have a "titled" dog. Cheznie, at nearly nine years of age, earned her Rally Novice (RN) title.
December 8, 2007
Check out the Mississippi Scenery page for some new pictures.
December 6, 2007
Merry Christmas to all of you, and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving time with loved ones. We went to Beeville for almost two weeks. I'll add a few pictures.
Dad, Sam, Danley, Mark, Bradley, and Ryan patiently waiting for women to set more food on the table. The empty chairs would be filled by Taryn (Bradley's fiance'), Glenda, Mother, and me.
Miller and Meagan and Hilary came down on Friday. Meagan's at ACU for her first year, and Hilary is about to turn 16.
Why we squeezed into the kitchen, I don't know. Front row is Carol, Gordon, and Wanda; back row is Sam, Hilary, and Miller.
Surely you didn't think we left the dogs behind!! They were so well-behaved!
September 21, 2007
We got to take a week of vacation and go to Fort Morgan, Alabama. We hadn't been to the beach in two years, so I was very excited to go. We took all four dogs. Here are five pictures we want to share with you.
The waters were calm this day.
Almost white sands.
Glistening waters and light blue skies.
This is taken off our back balcony toward the Gulf of Mexico.
This is taken off our front balcony toward Mobile Bay.
August 18, 2007
Last weekend we had six dogs in the house....our four and Griffen and Lily. Here's a great picture.
Duncan, Griffen, Cheznie, Lily, Darby plus Louie up close to Sam.
July 26, 2007
I've got a few pictures I want to post today from our time at the Beasley Reunion.
This is Edith, Jason, Lisa and part of Louis....maybe not the best of everyone, but how long has it been since some of you have seen Jason?
Here's our little precious Jaylie. This was taken one night when we were all outside eating...hence the little bit of chocolate on her face.
Here are Sam and the boys, Ethan and Isaac, in the pool at the resort.
Here are all three Grands in the living room at the Silverleaf Resort. Jaylie is eating some kind of tortilla chip.
June 28, 2007
We have added to our patio this week. It was just an average size, scored concrete, sort of hexagonal in shape. Due to the pine trees sucking the water up from the grass, the heat, and the dogs, much of our grass near the patio has died, and we are left with very fine dirt. Sam decided we needed to cover the dirt with concrete and increase our outdoor living area. So we did that on Monday this week. We now need to do lots more work, bringing in more dirt to even some things up, and probably add more sod and bushes. We have our work cut out for us. Here are a few pictures.
This is the far corner, back toward the house. The swing set is back behind me. Pine needles are ever-present.
I took this about 10:00 AM. The back of the house faces east, so this is the morning sun/shade. The patio gets the afternoon and evening shade. With all our trees, it is only very sunny on the patio during the 3-4 hours around 11:00-3:00. (The bright yellow thing on the big porch swing is a water pool/play set for The Littles. It won't always be there.)
Darby facing us, Duncan's back, and our new ceramic mom and two pups. Mom is holding a solar lantern. This helps to "mark" the corner of the patio. There is a bit of a drop off here for now, until we get more dirt and sod. From this point to the far point is about 43 feet.
I'm standing at the back door, so you see the old, the new, then the struggling bamboo, our back fence and the neighbor's house. That's why we want the bamboo to take over.
May 13, 2007
Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. Two of our puppies have gone home to their forever homes. Here's a picture of Sam and me with Gandalf the Golden, going home to our great friends and neighbors, the Henry Family.
Sam and Carol with "Gandalf" Henry.
April 9, 2007
Here are Jason's dogs:
Morgen, Marcello, and Manfred. Morgen and Manfred are Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and Marcello is an Italian Greyhound.
This is Morgen's first trip to the beach.
"I own this towel."