Five years later ....

Five years, four months, and eighteen days later, I'm back. I didn't expect to return to the blog, and it never even entered my mind to make another post until yesterday, but here I am.

I left off in Paris in 2019. After a few days in Paris and a few weeks in Italy (it was my first trip to Europe), I returned to China to pack and say my goodbyes. I sent Mimi back to the US via Shanghai and Frankfurt in early April. On May 18th, I boarded a flight and said farewell to my beloved home away from home for most of my adult life, China.

Once back in the US, I had foot surgery, then many other medical appointments in an attempt to get my health into better shape. My cancer treatment of 2014-2016 really knocked me for a loop, and I wasn't recovering as I was told I could expect. I ended up in the hospital the day after Christmas with pneumonia. Then I continued my lung rehabilitation for my paralyzed right diaphragm a few months later when Covid hit. It was a good thing I wasn't in China when Covid came along. If you know, you know.

I had another surgery later in 2020, and it was decided that my health wasn't strong enough to return overseas. It wasn't strong enough to do much in the US either.

I spent much of my time helping my parents, who lived next door.

In 2021, my dad was in and out of hospitals ten times. He passed away in November 2021 at the age of 88. We have the blessed assurance that he is in the presence of his savior, Jesus Christ. We sure miss him a lot though. Life is just not as sweet without him in it. You can read his obituary here. I thank God every day for letting me have him for my father. He was the best man I've ever known.

I tried to fill his shoes helping out my mom, doing the bookkeeping and taking her where she needed to go. It has sure been fun spending time with her. I wish my energy level was up to doing it all, but fatigue has made it hard to keep up with everything she and I both need to do. My mom is 87 years old right now.

My sweet dog, Mimi, turned 19 years old in January 2024. She did so well in her old age. On the night of March 17, 2024, we both spent the night on the floor, because she couldn't go anywhere else. She passed away the next morning at 4:45 a.m. and was buried in my backyard the following day. What joy that dog brought to my heart and my life! I can't imagine every having another furry friend like her.

Too much loss ... too much sadness. 

My doctors consider my medical problems too complex and overlapping to try to figure out any great solutions. Their goal is to keep me stable. I have bigger dreams though. I pray that God will renew my strength and let me live my life to the fullest. Just "getting by" is something, but God has much more in mind for a child of His.

I hope this brief synopsis of the past five years fills in a few gaps. Let me know if you read this, because I'm not advertising my return to the blog, and I'm going to assume that I'm the only one that sees this unless you let me know otherwise. I'm happy to have a place to post my photos and keep an online journal once again. 

And, if I ever disappear again, don't necessarily assume the worst. I'm glad you're here!  

The dog I love

Watching TV with me

I've been sick with a cold or sinus infection for seven days already. A few days, I was stuck in bed, watching TV. But I wasn't lonely, because Mimi the wonder dog was also there watching TV with me. She's eyeing DiNozzo on NCIS.

Downstairs lobby ain't much to brag about

Thank goodness I have an elevator! Mimi and I use it many times a day to go outside. There's an annoying little lobby at the bottom of the elevator, though, that we have to walk through to get outside. Some neighbors park their e-bikes in the lobby, instead of parking them one more floor down in the basement where they have ramps for easy in-and-out access. We have to squeeze by them to go in and out. There are signs in the lobby that say "no parking," but those signs have been there eight years and no one enforces the rules. In the photo above, Mimi and I have just come back inside the lobby from outside. We entered through a clear glass door that we have a key to.

The lobby is L-shaped, and we've just turned the corner of the L. There's the elevator on Mimi's left side. The lady from the 9th floor lets her brown male poodle pee at the very bottom of the stairs every single day (you can't see the stairs, but they are to Mimi's right side). People walk through the pee because they don't notice it until it is too late. Mimi, on the other hand, swings way out so she doesn't get anywhere near the puddle. 

Two families have first floor apartments. I wouldn't want to be them, with people right outside your door all the time waiting for the elevator.

All my neighbors used to be afraid of Mimi, because she barks loudly at them. Most of them have gotten used to her and laugh at her now. They know she's not going to bite. Maybe they don't all love her, but I'm not really thrilled with all their e-bikes and dog pee either, so we're even. 

In China, public areas like lobbies and stairwells are not well maintained. We have cleaners who come every morning with a wet rag mop. They go up to the 10th floor with the wet mop, and walk down the stairs mopping as they go. They never clean or re-moisten the mop during this routine, and things don't get very clean. The walls are black where the dirty mop slaps them when moving from side to side. 

Even very rich people live in this kind of environment where they have to put up with less-than-stellar public areas. What I mean is, I think the people on the 10th floor of my building, who have two floors and roof garden access and drive BMWs are probably millionaires. They have to deal with the dirt, clutter and dog pee just like us regular joes do. 

Can't get enough of my Pekingese

 

I know one day I won't regret all these photos I've taken of Mimi. Sorry if looking at her isn't your thing. Just scroll on down. This blog is like my journal and I go to it to remember the days of my life. Mimi's a big part of it all. 

Mimi says "hey"

Mimi, my beautiful Pekingese

Mimi is doing well. She has had an eye infection for two months. Once it was almost clear, but she rubbed it and it got messed up again. Now, it's almost better again. She's taken antibiotics and had eye gel applied -- not willingly though. She is 12-1/2 years old, and I guess it is taking her longer to heal than it would if she was younger. She's more moody and grouchy than she used to be, and I don't know if it can be attributed to age or illness or both. I love her and I know she feels the same about me, even when she's grouchy.

And for those smarty-pants among you who wonder exactly when it was that my dog was NOT grouchy, all I can do is wrinkle my nose and glare at you. Please leave my doggy alone. What you consider as aggressive behavior, I consider part of her job as my protective detail. She was merely protecting me. :-)

Pixie does Sudoku

My parents got two new dogs in 2017. The got Bella in January and Pixie in March. I was home mid-February through mid-April, so I got to know the little doggies pretty well. I even taught them both to use the doggy door, and helped house-train Pixie (she was still in the learning curve when I left). I took this photo of Pixie sitting in my dad's lap while he works on a Sudoku puzzle. Some say Pixie's so ugly she's cute. I just think she is cute. She has a perfectly charming personality, bounds with energy, and loves to be held. Pixie is only 7 months old in this pic, and four-year-old Bella enjoys her company some of the time. 

Surgery in Texas

I flew to Texas on Friday, February 10th. It's a strange thing to leave China at 5:30 p.m. and arrive in Texas around 3 p.m. the same day. I arrived before I left. Or something like that.

The following Tuesday, in Houston, I had cancer screenings, checking the places where cancer reared its ugly head in 2014. It's still all gone!

Then on Wednesday, I had surgery to correct some things from the last surgery. Now I'm back at my parents' house recuperating from that surgery. I have pain. But the surgery went well. I may have to have another surgery another time (another year) to finish up the necessary corrections.

I'll return overseas in early April.

Mimi's in good hands back in the Middle Kingdom, and my parents' new dog is trying to keep me company in the meantime.

My parents are both ill right now with bronchitis. Here's a sample conversation from this morning:

      Mom: Are you feeling better?
      Me: Better than who?

Hopefully we'll all be on the road to health very soon. 

Shot day

              

My babe is wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in front of the door so she can see who comes and goes. She had her rabies' shots on Monday and shot day always mellows her for a day.

Two years ago today

Two years ago today I got on a plane and flew back to America. I knew I had cancer but I didn't know what kind or how severe it was. I didn't know if I'd ever see China or my Chinese friends again. I left my dog behind in China on that day and hoped I would be successfully reunited with her. I remember wondering if I'd make it until Christmas, and now it has been two years. It feels a little surreal. Of course I am very thankful for all that God has done for me. Everything in life seems different now though. There is nothing good about cancer.

"He was asking for it," says Mimi

My dog bit the groundskeeper this morning. I was trying to talk to him and I was holding her usually tight leash a little too loosely. She must have not liked the look or smell of the guy, because she went right for his ankle, a move she tries on every person and dog that comes too close that she doesn't take an immediate liking to.

I think Mimi thought in her own little brain that she was playing with him, because she didn't try to kill him or anything. She just got her slobber all over the leg of his trousers, like she was teasing him to come chase her or something. He pulled up his trouser's leg to see if she broke skin, and though we could detect a little redness, she hadn't broken his skin. The groundskeeper is such a good sport though; he laughed it off and said "mei shi," no problem.

Mimi was all smiling and everything. She looked at me for approval and wondered why the game ended before it ever got started good. If only we could find a game for her that didn't involve her teeth and "mouth water" as they call it here....

I understand the groundskeeper's initial fear. In this country, rabies are a big problem. If you get bit by a rabid dog (which Mimi acts like sometimes, but is not), you have to go to the hospital and pay a couple of hundred dollars for a series of rabies shots. If you don't, you may start foaming at the mouth, bite people and die within a few months. If Mimi had seriously bit this guy,  I would have had to pay for his shots, and rightly so. I know, I must remember to keep that leash tight, or else pick her up and throw her over my shoulder like a baby when I stop to talk to someone!

In America, Mimi and I would walk and walk and walk and never encounter another person. But in this most populated country of the world, we can't walk more than five seconds without passing someone or some group of people. I'm usually very careful to keep her leash pulled tight so she can't lunge at anyone.

I told the guy Mimi has had her rabies shots and cannot carry the rabies disease. But no one here believes that story, although in my case it is true. Even if you showed them your pet's rabies' certificates, they would assume they were forged. Lots of people try to save money by not getting their pets vaccinated, and some find fake certificates to use. But my dog really did get rabies shots, in Texas in December. So she is really good.

And when I say good, I mean bad. Mimi is really bad to be biting people. She has a bad master who could never figure out how to train and restrain this notoriously off-the-wall doggy breed.

On the other hand, her behavior works great for her watch dog status, and I always feel very safe with her around. If the delivery guy tries anything funny, Mimi will have him for lunch.

My 11-year-old Mimi is so sweet, calm and loving when she is home inside with me with the door closed. My neighbors who share the elevator with Mimi wouldn't believe it. I've told them as much, and they are like "are you kidding me?"

Anyway, she's my sweet little wolf, and I'm keeping her.

Elephants never forget

After a year and a half in Texas, in a one-level home that has a fenced in backyard with grass, you'd think this little Pekingese might have been confused when she returned to her high-rise apartment, elevator, in-door potty training expectations, and all the other things that are different in her life in the Middle Kingdom.

She acted like she hadn't been away a single minute.

They say elephants never forget. Nor do Pekingese.

My lovely little Pekingese

It sure is nice to have Mimi with me in the U.S. She keeps me laughing, smiling and happy all over.

Mimi has been an "only-dog" for ten years, so she's had a hard time adjusting to sharing a house with a poodle. Mimi is aggressive, even hostile towards the other dog, thinking it might steal her food. My parents have really big hearts though, and they love Mimi despite her personality flaws, knowing she's been through a lot lately.

Right now I'm in Houston for six weeks, so my parents have kindly taken on the responsibility for keeping the dogs alive and happy during my absence. I kind of miss my cuddly little sidekick. I know she's in good hands though. Hang in there little baby!

Cold Saturday in January

It's a cold, bleak January morning, a Saturday. I get up and out the door early.

Mimi's excited to have her pink sweater and her leash both on. It means something is going to happen to her. But when I put her in her carrier in the back seat of my car, her excitement morphs into terror. I tell her not to worry, that we're just going to the nearby small town of Noonday, not back on an airplane to China. As usual, she doesn't understand.

We ride through nearly vacant roads on this weekend morning, made empty as others sleep in. These are back roads, lined with bare trees reaching their limbs to the frosty gray sky above.

This would be a charming ride through the woods if it were not for the wailing dog in the back seat.

We arrive ten minutes before the traveling small town veterinarian staff opens for business under a tent next to the Dollar General store. I don't want a line to form in front of me, so I get Mimi out of the car and we wait in the cold.

No line forms. No one else thinks it is warm enough to visit the outdoor vet today, not at this early hour anyway. Whether he offers cheaper prices or not, they have decided to stay home in their warm beds and postpone their doggy disease prevention to another day.

Mimi gets a blood test. We wait another ten minutes to get the result. Good news, no heart worms. We buy a year's worth of preventative medicine and jump back in the car.

Even though we had no stops at airports, Mimi is still not happy. She shrieks all the way home, over the undulating hills of east Texas.

I think she must get car sick, like me.

Merry Christmas from me, myself and Mimi

Wishing you all a blessed and merry Christmas. 

Thank You God for sending Jesus to save us from our sins and restore us to fellowship with You! Thank You for bringing Mimi and me safely to Texas for this chapter of our lives.

She's heeeeere!

Mimi arrives at DFW Cargo Terminal on Friday, November 14, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. 

 We are quite happy now!

 Inseparable!

Life is good!

Mimi's departure in Shanghai

 Mimi is in the car traveling to Shanghai.

 She loves to look out the windows while in a car.

 The driver had to stop for a pit stop, so Mimi decided to get out and stretch her legs.

 Back in the car now.

Her super huge carrier didn't leave much room for comfortable sitting.

She might not have napped in the car had she known she'd be sleeping so long on the flight.

Out of the car, into the cargo terminal.

And … apparently she is not too happy about it.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change," she surely uttered at this point in time.

Door closed, cable ties secured, and just to be sure, netting goes over the carrier.

I like the triple security measures.

Mimi calms down and takes it like a real trooper.

Coming soon ....

Sweet Mimi

Hey Mimi, hang in there! Master thinks about you every day with love.

(Wipe your mouth off, will ya?)