We observed the one year anniversary of Dave’s death this month. It wasn’t a day I really wanted to remember. Nick and I met Dave’s sister and her daughter at Roscoe Village near Coschocton, Ohio (http://www.roscoevillage.com/). We enjoyed the afternoon by wandering around the town and looking at the historical exhibits. Certainly getting out of the house and doing something was a good way to spend the day and meeting Dave’s sister and our niece helped too.
OK, this is a sign of something but I’m not sure what.
Right around the time that Dave died, I received a letter from PNC where I do my banking saying that because Dave and I were such good customers, they were assigning us a personal banking assistant.
This guy has been so helpful to me. My banking needs now go something like this. I call or email the assistant and he takes care of it for me. I worked with him on changing the mortgage on my house. He arranged for a safe deposit box for me. He opened a savings account for me.
Most recently I called him and told him I want to buy a car. He had a loan and check to me in 2 days that I can use if I need it. One phone call and that was it.
I guess it makes sense for PNC because it’s a lot easier to give them my business because I just call this guy.
So, is this a sign that I’m lazy? Or relying on convenience? I think it’s just convenience because I still am checking out auto loan rates.
Hmm, now that I think about this, I’m not sure if I ever removed Dave’s name from my checking account. I better call him.
I’m still hunting for a car. I’ve looked at both the Prius and the new Prius C. I really liked the Prius but it costs more than any other car I’ve considered. I just can’t quite bring myself to spend the extra money. The Prius C is a great deal but it’s really small. Plus, it’s very much in demand right now so nobody has one for very long and there’s not much choice in what you get. If you find one, apparently you buy that one.
Nick says the biggest problem with buying a Prius is that then I’d be a Prius owner.
I checked out Hondas. I drove the Honda Civic, the Civic Hybrid, the Insight, and the CRZ. Both Nick and I liked the CRZ but I’m not sure that a two-seater car is the way to go.
We stopped in at a Subaru dealer to look at the Impreza. Apparently, it, like the Prius C, is popular right now and is hard to find. I don’t want to buy a car that I’ve not seen and have not test driven.
Nick wanted to look at Mazdas so we went and test drove a Mazda 3. It was nice but I think I preferred the Civic. Now I’m dealing with a Mazda salesperson who wants to make a sale. He told me 3 times that he’s new to the car business so I know he’s anxious to sell something. I’m a bit put off by him because he called to tell me that the Subarus that were on order are all already sold so wouldn’t I like a Mazda? I think I’d prefer to hear that from the Subarus sales guy. (The same dealer sells both the Subarus and the Mazdas.)
There are lots of weird emotional issues about buying an American made car so I’m sticking with Japanese cars. My Kia Sedona did not hold up well so I’m not buying another Kia. I guess I could look at a Hyundai but I’m just tired of looking at cars and dealing with car dealers.
What an ordeal. I really want to get finish this!
My remaining dog—Nunu—is grieving for Nessie. Nunu was about 8 weeks old when we brought her home and one year old Nessie quickly became the big sister even though Nunu quickly dwarfed Nessie.
I think Nunu, who is now 10 years old, has not been alone in the house for more than 8 hours total in her life before Nessie died. Nunu doesn’t know what to do. She eats because she always eats but I can’t get her to go for a walk or even to go outside for more than a couple minutes. She follows me around but I’m gone most of the day. If I drive her to a park, she’ll walk there but I can’t drive her to a park every time she needs some exercise.
We’re giving her lots of attention. Unfortunately, Nunu never was much for playing with toys unless it was taking away Nessie’s toys. So we can’t start a game with her. Why a retriever doesn’t like to play fetch is not clear to me!
Actually, Nick and Dave used to play Nunu in the Middle with her and a soft toy so perhaps Nick and I can try that.
Anything to get her up and about again.
I haven’t been corresponding much lately because we’ve been dealing with more loss and bereavement.
Our sweet little dog Nessie turned out to be quite ill. I thought she was dealing with arthritis or some sore muscles because she wasn’t eating much and she wasn’t her usual energetic self. Eventually she became so lethargic that I called the vet.
It turns out that she was very ill and I ended up taking her back to the vet less than a week later to have her euthanized. Such a hard thing to go through. Nessie was the mixed-breed supposedly healthy dog. She was going to live a few more years with me. The vet said it was probably cancer or an autoimmune disease where her immune system was attacking the red blood cells.
We got Nessie when Nick finished kindergarten. Memorial Day weekend, in fact, so it’s an anniversary coming up. Dave picked her out. She was living as a foster puppy in a barn in Boston Heights. Her brother and sister were there too. We often regretted not taking her sister when we adopted Nessie.
Nessie was a wonderful dog. She was so sweet but with just enough mischief in her to keep us on our toes. We will miss her mightily.
Poor Nick and I are back to being heart-sore.