Tough Weekend

Saturday Elise and I played our first duet in public; at a funeral. It was a bummer; a very friendly and energetic woman who obviously had a wide and good effect everywhere she went. She died of cancer, and I think she was 54 when she died.

Immediately upon returning to the house, I picked up my cellphone (which I'd left behind) to hear a message from my very distraught friend Susan who said her dog wasn't well. Elise and I raced to the vet just in time to see Fisher put down.

Fischer Watkins, b. unknown, d. 9-27-2008.
Rest ye well, fair traveller.

My eyes are tearing up writing about this. Fisher was the sweetest dog on earth, and early on when Elise wanted me to declare Jilly with that title, I refused. When Elise met him, she soon understood why. He was an old man by then, a sweet old man. But I remember the young man too, who was just as sweet with a lot more vigor. Now Jilly has indeed assumed her throne, but it's not the sort of promotion you rejoice over.

And this was all before noon! Our weekend was pretty shot at that point. We went to lunch, went back to our place, and napped the afternoon away. In the evening, we went to a local restaurant where we often meet Susan, and got her favorite dish. We dropped it off to her on our way to a party. At the party my friend Darrin made some awesome beers and bratwursts, but our heart really wasn't in partying. Today, we're all kind of numb and frazzled, and it shows in lots of little ways. We're napping through the afternoon today, too.