2024 was quite the year.
January — I spent more time with Remodel Dude than I did anyone else. Top to bottom, we updated my house in Montana.
February — New doors everywhere. I slept in the living room all month (and was grateful that bears were hibernating).
March on…
April — I took a break from construction and painting and headed for the BMDCA National Specialty in Missouri. It was amazing. Friends and dogs — what could be better? Capella earned her NDD and an Award of Merit in a huge (n=141) Best of Breed class.
But this photo!!!
Can you tell Claire did not qualify in that obedience run? Of course not — and neither could she. I am so glad that I choose to not ever be disappointed with my dogs.
May — all butts on deck!
June — finally the house was ready and on the market! With every showing, I had to clean like a crazy person and then load up dogs and drive very, very slowly on the backroads while strangers traipsed through my house.
Sparkle
In July, we called in reinforcements to get that house sold.
Lucky Sock, St. Joseph, and a super lucky Happy Hippie Heart.
Finally — an accepted offer!
And then in August a giant tree fell on the garage…
A wildfire started on the mountain…
The view from my house.
And my beloved Claire had to leave me — suddenly and shockingly.
Answer: “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” by Taylor Swift. But not for the lost lover part — EW. No. Yuck.
Losing Claire was shattering — and I had no choice but to carry on. That is why that song was on repeat: “I cry a lot but I am so productive, it's an art”
Somehow in September, all the dump runs got done and everything was packed and loaded up.
Sparkle was in a (crash-tested) seatbelt!
Good-bye Montana — sort of. I still work in Montana, but am doing so remotely now (with occasional trips to campus).
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I bought a new house.
Close to family.
And close to friends who are family.
October — the new yard/sod was ready for action. Or inaction.
My sisters are now only a day’s drive away — in October they came to check out the new place.
In November this shed was transformed into a home office (more on that soon) — thanks to the Heintzbergers and Cranfords.
In December I went to Bend to hopefully create the N Litter 🍀
I had surgery.
I am just fine!
And I celebrated Christmas with just the dogs and cats because the kids had a puking plague 🤷🏼♀️
Wow. What a year.
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❤️ 🎉