Losing a friend I never knew

A couple of weeks ago I lost a friend I never knew.  Mr C, who lived in a neighborhood nearby suffered an accident a couple of months ago and had been hospitalized in San Jose.  I helped his daughter during her stay here when she flew down immediately after his accident.  She did not know anyone here and needed logistical and moral support.  During my rounds around town with her, I learned about her dad, a stubborn man who also had a very strong independent spirit.  He was an elderly gentleman who moved here about seven years ago in an RV he drove down from California.  He enjoyed raising sheep, chickens, photography and had two beloved dogs.  Unfortunately, while he was in the hospital his home was robbed four times.  The first time the thieves took many valuable electronic items and despite immediately reporting the incident with a full comprehensive list of items stolen and pictures, none of his items were ever recovered.  Maybe in some ways it was good that he never had to come back home to see what had happened.  

On a positive note, three weeks or so after he was hospitalized a wonderful friend of his trained as a hospice care worker and her partner learned of his accident and began to visit him daily in the hospital and were there until the very end to let him know he was loved and keep him company since his daughters were unable to be here with him.

The weeks here always seem to bring some type of event that makes time fly by faster than we would like.  The death of Mr C brought us friends who stayed with us for a few days.  During the same time, our beloved pooch had an incident with a herniated disc that rendered him almost unable to walk.   We  had prepared for the worst news when we took him to the vet since the pooch is 12 years old.  Fortunately, a wonderful vet here in town and his staff were able to provide a care plan that now includes hydrotherapy in our swimming pool three times a week that has enabled our doggie to be back to his old self.  He does have a funky haircut that looks like a small football field across his lower back for ultrasound and electrotherapy treatment, but he doesn't seem to mind.

Last month we also had fun meeting and spending time with a wonderful couple from Florida who we met via the Internet last year when they were interested in renting our home.  Even though our home was not available, we stayed in touch and they ended up renting a lovely home we had looked at during our visit a few years ago when we were looking for our retirement home.  They really enjoyed their month long stay here and we were fortunate enough to enjoy time with them getting acquainted.  They plan to return next year for a two month stay.