Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the dog and cat mama's out there!

And don't forget to give your mama an extra smooch today (they LOVE that)

Love,
Bogart

Mama and Me

We make a DAMN FINE team.  Show your mama some lovin' today!

Love,

Bogart

Me and my mama.  We are an amazing team.

We love each other, we respect each other, and damnit, we just really, really like each other.

When the world tries to mess with mama, I bare my mighty Dale teeth, and when the world tries to mess with me, mama becomes a tiger.  She's got my back, and I've got hers.

Some days it feels like mama and me against the world - and most days it's just us (and our kitties).  Mama can get really depressed at times, I do my best to keep her spirits up.  Showing her "the button" (as dad used to say), always makes her smile.  The button is my big, black, wet nose.

 

Kisses All Around!!!!

While the tides of life throw us to and fro, mama is my life raft and I am hers.  I feel safe with her and you know that she's safe with me.

We're just a coupla crazy kids, just trying to keep on keepin' on.  Mama says, KISS YOUR DOG and KISS YOUR CAT every day... nothing better than wet, sloppy dog kisses or sandpaper-y kitty kisses!

Love,

Bogart

A Dale is a Girl's Best Friend

Make that BESTEST friend.

Mama and I make a ridiculously good team.  We far preferred when we had our team captain Klaus, but mama and I seem to do the co-captain thing pretty darned well.  These photos are an excellent example.  Both of us are hardcore camera hogs - uh, I mean that we both enjoy the spotlight - oh who am I kidding we are both start modeling before the camera is turned on.  Both lookin' cute, without trying to outshine the other.  TEAMWORK

Mama tells me every day that I saved her life - truth is that I need her as much as she needs me.  Just don't tell her, I don't want her getting a swollen head (just think how funny that would look with that crazy red hair)...

Even on something as simple as a necessary sit-down to rest up during the wild and wooly humidity can be turned into a photo op.  Of course some of us are more ready for our closeup than others.

Best. Buddies. FOREVER.  Truly made for each other.  Give your mama (and your dad, if you're lucky enough to have one) a big kiss today - I did, right after this photo was taken.  Which is exactly why it was the last photo taken.

Love,

Bogart

Missing the Klaus-meister

Lulu here.  Today is 2 years since Klaus passed away.  A day that I haven't really prepared myself for, no matter how much I think about it.  A day that I'm not ready for, no matter how much I planned to be.  A day, if I'm honest, I never thought I would be here to see. 

Each anniversary that goes by twists the knife that's in my heart, but these hurt the most because they are a reminder of only a bad thing (the day we lost him) rather than good things (our wedding anniversary, his birthday).

Having to be both mama and dad to Bogart and the kitties is hard.  Having to figure out who the hell I am now is hard.  And my normal MO is to not make things particularly easy for myself, so there is the extra heaping helping of self-torture that goes on.  I hate being a part of the widow club - nothing against the other members, of course - it's just the crappiest club around.  And adding it to my resume doesn't exactly bring up my score on the sweetness scale.  

I'm a tough nut with a marshmallow coating and don't forget the frosting and sprinkles, but I confess that making it this far wasn't a part of my plan.  I literally owe my existence to my bestest friends - Bogart, Sekhmet, Aeon, Behemoth, Kafka and Willie - without their love, discipline, and general all-around awesomeness I would have been floating around the Willamette years ago as fish food (yep, that was the plan - convoluted but I thought it had the best chance of effectiveness with the least amount of pain and chance of messing it up).

In the past two years I've learned a lot of things.  I've lost a lot of things.  I don't think I've gained a lot, but I suppose it's more about laying a foundation before you build a house, eh?  So I'm laying the concrete slabs in hopes that plans work out and I can get the electricity and running water sorted at a later date.  Raising funds for future development, well, hell yeah.  Maybe even decorating at some point.  I do wish that I had some architectural drawings for fear of letting my imagination run too wild and designing an Addams family life/home rather than somethingmore practical and typical, but I suppose when thinking of something typically Lulu the Addams family does indeed come to mind.

Last year I decided that the anniversary of Klaus' passing would be a birthday for me each year.  Not to celebrate, but to remember that not only did he die but our lives together did and thusly so did I.  A whole language between us is gone, my identity crushed into little pieces.  I am distinctly not the same person I was two years ago, in many good and bad ways.  So it makes a kind of sense to turn back the numbers (partially because I'm not thrilled at how high my actual age is these days!) and start the counting anew.

Moving to the east coast has been tremendous for us, and Philadelphia has turned into a fantastic place to both nurse our wounds and venture out.  Much of my life has been spent moving long distances in search of "something" so I cannot say that this will be the place we put down roots, but for now it's "just right".

So tonight, on my birthday, a little of the old and the new - a beer for Klaus and some frosting for me, special treats for Bogart and the kitties.  

We all miss you, big guy.

Lulu

Red-dy for Anything

Well ok, probably not anything - probably not even most things - but at least to unveil mama's new hair color:

And who better to present her than MEEEEEE?

She's FUN. Even when she drives me crazy, she's still kind of FUN.

And she accepts my kisses all day long.

She knows when to share the spotlight...

When to be a background player...

And when to step back into my reflected glory.

We are quite a pair - not always sure of a pair of what - but we are always "in tune".

Yep, that's my mama...

Mama and I want to thank EVERYONE who reads our blog, checks in on us, leaves comments, sends us email... you make our days a little bit brighter (I'd make a joke about how bright mama's hair is right now, but well, that's just too easy...).

Love,

Bogart & Lulu

I Did it My Way

I cannot believe that it has been one year now since Klaus passed away.

The 1 on the cupcake is for two things - acknowledging that it has been one year since Klaus has been gone, and also that it has been one year into my new life. So technically I turned 1 today.

My life as I knew it ended when I lost Klaus, and it's been a rocky first year of life without him. I suppose that for any creature the first year of life is difficult - you have to learn how to do so many things, you make lots of mistakes, and you are very dependent on everyone for everything - you learn how to eat, how to breathe, and how to live. I have new eyes now - the old ones weren't good anymore - they still have that "new eye smell" and are still a bit hazy, with lots of floaters.

I can't say that I've done well, only that I've done things truly "My Way", which is the best and only way I know how.

My ever-constant companion Bogart has truly kept me alive. His devotion, his protection, and his ability to make me laugh out loud every single day help me believe that still being alive is maybe not such a bad thing. Every person who has touched me this past year has made an impression, but no one could ever be close to what Bogart has done.

And of course my kitties - the little furry devils of my heart - sleep with me every night, helping me to chase away the perpetual nightmares (that's Aeon, trying to score some frosting)...

Again... Thank You All for your love and support.

And to my dearest husband-o Klaus, I love you, I miss you, and I will see you in my dreams.

Love,

Lulu

The Longest Day

... so far.

One year ago today my life changed in a way that I never saw coming, and never thought could happen. On February 17th 2009, my dear husband Klaus woke up freezing cold and convulsing. The emergency crew arrived within minutes and took him to the hospital. I arrived a few minutes later to the news that my husband was going to die.

But Klaus was a tiger, and through the next 12 days he surprised everyone at the hospital - and around the world - with his determination, strength, and the overwhelming amount of love that poured his way. Although he could not communicate at all during that time, I know that he knew that I was there, that people (and dogs and cats) all over the world were pulling for him, and that his loyal dog Bogart would manage to charm his way into the ICU. The only real reactions he had were early on when I asked him for a kiss (I swear that his lips moved around his ventilator tube) and when Bogart visited and would kiss his hand. Not much - but priceless.

Anniversaries, special dates, holidays have hit me hard this past year. Understandable. But today has really torn me apart, remembering the day that this all started. They are memories that I treasure because they are of Klaus, yet they are absolutely horrible because of the outcome. Lots more crying than usual. The first day I really broke down at work and had to leave.

Anyone who says this gets easier as time goes by is full of shit (uh, I mean poop). At the beginning my brain was kind and anaesthesized me - everything hurt, but the pain was dull. Now some days it feels like getting a full-on root canal with no novocaine.

I WANT MY ANAESTHESIA BACK, PLEASE

I truly don't know what I would do without Bogart and the kitties. They are truly the best medicine. This has been a year full of challenges, hardships, and all-out pain, but between the social interaction that Bogart forces me to have and the at-home forced cuddling that the kitties do (there is always someone on my lap or calculating a way into my lap) they keep me alive. Whether I like it or not.

Did I mention that I'd like my anaesthetic back?

Love,

Lulu

The Gruesome Twosome

Me and mama - The Gruesome Twosome:

Do we always get the perfect shot the first time? Well.... nope. In fact, we don't even get the perfect shot the 25th time. There are some challenges inherent in taking a photo by holding the camera away from you, posing, and then hoping against hope that you are both in frame. Especially when one of us is an AIREDALE...

Sometimes with a little bribery (like a juicy stick) we may be looking in close to the same direction...

And sometimes funny angles can yield great results...

But then your mama will want to get in the act (she thinks she's such a comedian sometimes)...

I still love her more than anything, no matter what. Best buddies in the world...

But I do want that stick. All to myself, please.

Just keep shooting mama, you never know when I will do something adorable...

Or something outrageous...

Or you will capture a perfect moment (where I give you a razzberry).

The point is, WE ARE A TEAM, and neither one of us could do any of this without the other.

Although sometimes I think I do the lion's share of the work...

And drag her along behind me...

She's not only my mama, but my BESTEST FRIEND and, well, without those opposable thumbs this blog would be far less interesting.

Love,

Bogart