From Another Point of View

This post is a continuation of the honoring of little Gaela's life from Shirley's point of view. I want to be sure everyone knows that Gaela had another side to her that was not all sweetness and light. This is the little dog who hollered at the top of her lungs the first night she was in our home because we had the audacity to place her crate in the family room instead of our bedroom; this was the little dog for whom we bought a motor home so we would never have to travel without her; this was the little dog who, while we were away at work, completely shredded Raggedy Ann and Andy in what will be forever remembered as the Raggedy Ann Murders on Van Gogh Circle; this was the little dog who did not know she weighed only nine pounds and would go head to head with Sassy in regular confrontations in the new house as territory was
established; this was the little dog who, in her later years, would never been seen publicly without her leopard sweater, purple harness, and leash; and this was the little dog who could look at us with a most sarcastic scowl when things were not going her way!! This little dog was a "piece of work" and will forever be remembered as Little Gaela Marie-Maroo, the leader of the pack. Good night Little Darling!!

Un Suspiro Largo

Some people have gone to San Miguel de Allende, been captivated by the art and atmosphere, and have never returned to their home countries. Many more make it a part-time home or a regular stop on their world travels. 

One reads of special places that capture the soul ___San Miguel must be one of those.

And for us, well, as much as I love to go on and on about my travels (or anything else!), I cannot even attempt to describe the experience of San Miguel. The old saw, "You just had to be there.", is nowhere truer than when applied to this Mexican mountain town. Suffice it to say that being in San Miguel is un Suspiro largo,  a long sigh. The people, the pace, and the panoply of pastoral isolation combined to make our stay the most relaxing and refreshing of any trip we have ever taken. Florida's "sand in your shoes" maxim pales beside the insistent pull of San Miguel to return ___ soon and often.

Favorite Places and Faces in San Miguel

I loved this sign over the door of the piano studio in the Bellas Artes building in San Miguel. The Bellas Artes is a former convent and a beautiful building that houses many different art studios. We didn't actually see them being utilized but expect that they are used some of the time. We had a coffee while sitting at a little table in the inner patio while observing a group of Middle School students on a field trip.


I also loved this little Mexican beauty, gracing a doorway in a shop in the center of town. I'm guessing she is dressed for "El Di'a de los Muertos" judging by her skeletal face.

La Tourista, Encantada Con San Miguel

This is the first of many posts we will write about our trip to San Miguel de Allende. Here I am, looking like a very short school boy, at the top of the steps ready for the day. My new hat was a life-saver as the weather was very hot and sunny throughout our stay in Mexico. Shannon and Elizabeth were the perfect tour guides all along the way and on this particular day, we were off to El Charco, the botanical gardens of San Miguel.

In Memoriam__Gaela

If ever there was a Dog in Charge, Gaela was it. We called her Queen of Everything. She feared nothing and acted accordingly, not unusual for a terrier, but she weighed just 9 pounds. For years, she ruled the roost, keeping four other dogs and her two people in line, all the while being the best and most adaptable little dog we've every known.

As sixteen years of living began to seriously wear upon our little Norwich, we had many discussions of quality of life, and of how Gaela was visibly coming to the end of her time with us. And as that time grew painfully close, I spent the days with her sadly watching as she slept the hours away or wandered aimlessly about the office. It was a tearful time. In those last days I wrote:

For Gaela- She has given us a lifetime of love.

'Tis hard to hold the pow'r of life and death,

And harder yet to know when it is time

To free the loved one's energy. A breath

is all there is between the mortal chime

And the immortal toll. The need to cling

Retards my steps, inevitable as

They needs must be, and my emotions swing,

A pendulum of yes and no. She has

No longer quality of life. My head and

Heart must wrestle with the painful choice___

Is this the day? Is there to be a shred

Of pleasure left for her? No sight, no voice,

Unhearing and afraid___no way to live!

The hardest kindness__all that's left to give.


And now she can at last relax and cease her wandering. She is at home with Pippin and Pookie, Eiseley and Sassy___no doubt in charge of all in her new realm.