Honoring MY QUEEN

The limp continued and progressed to a dangling right foreleg. Back to vet we went to say, "The adequan prescribed did not help the limp, it has gotten worse." Off to NC State Vet School campus to the MRI scanning we were sent on Ken's death date anniversary (of all the dates possible.) Then came the painful, dreadful call. Our Queen, Sassy, has cancer -- a brachial plexus tumor which has invaded the spinal cord and other nerves. Proposed treatment: amputate the front foreleg, use chemo and radiation. Proposed result: Buy a little time with the same final result -- there is no cure.
I felt like I had been hit with a startling blow not just in the heart but the whole body. I listened, I thought, and then I asked my vet what would you do? Surprisingly her answer paralled exactly what I was thinking. She gave me the weekend to think about it and promised to leave me some prescriptions to pick up.
After I hung up I held my Queen for what had to be several hours and cried as I stroked her furry body. She has been my lifeline since Ken went away. My family bought her for me for Christmas 1998. She gave me a reason to get up and go and enjoy the day when I was overcome with grief and just didn't feel like it.
How can I ever let her go?

Do dogs have souls? There are lots of opinions out there. Will she be mine and with me in the life here after? I love her like a member of my family even if she is canine. She is very attached to me and totally loyal. And I might add as well, she is dependent on me. So I have dried my tears for now and decided that my Queen will be treated like royality for the days we have left together.

Yum-Yum Daze

For some strange reason Yum-Yums invaded my memory recently. Yum-Yums take me back too many years to admit but come from the pleasant and tasty part of my memory bank. We loved the days at home as a kid when my Mom baked. She was a truly good cook and as you could tell by looking at us we enjoyed the goodies. One of the treats I remember her baking were what we called Yum-Yums. I have no idea how they got that name but we loved them. Now remember those were the days when folks baked a lot of what they had and did not rush off to the store and buy everything. All that is available in the area of baked goods today was no where to be found in that time. Many were the days that we came home from school on a cold bitter day and the aroma of baked goods or cooking food met us at the door. Yum-Yums were nothing more than a little spicy cup cake but they were SO GOOD to us AND they stored well - if there were some left to store!
I am including the recipe just in case you are wondering at this point.

LOLA'S YUM - YUMS
4 cups flour
1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon each -- Soda, Salt, Allspice, Nutmeg, Cloves, Cinnamon
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 1/2 cup chopped Raisins
i cup chopped nuts
Blend sugar, shortening and add eggs. Alternately sift in dry ingredients with milk.
Add raisins and nuts. Bake at 350 degrees in paper cups set in muffin pans to keep shape.
I did not record a time to bake but I assume you can tell when they lightly brown and are done. I will do some research on the time and record later.
All that is left is to enjoy with a giant glass of milk!