Life does go on

 I can't tell you how much I have been touched by so many sweet comments about my poor dog's surprising death last week.  Thank you very much for taking the time to share your warmth and love to us.

It's probably been hardest on our grandkids who haven't head to deal with any death.  Even little Eli, who just turned four, said to me before falling asleep on Saturday, in a whisper that he misses Max.

We are on the fence about whether to replace Max.  We had been thinking that we'd get a golden doddle rather than another golden retriever to reduce the shedding and opt for a smaller dog.  Finding a puppy is quite a process that's pretty overwhelming.  The breeders are all over the country;  finding a puppy online is an entirely different process than when we got Max 12 yrs ago from a small breeder nearby.  You don't just pick out a dog from a breeder;  breeders frequently require a deposit months before a puppy is born and there's a "picking" day.   If you happen to have recently gotten a golden doodle or a puppy, I'd love to hear any advice!

Throughout the past week I have been sewing on my stars and sprigs quilt.  I signed up for a back basting appliqué class with Barb Vedder over the weekend but wasn't able to watch so I intend to educate myself on perhaps a more efficient method of sewing my pieces down using the freezer paper method.