Pondering thoughts

I was reading a piece in our local newspaper and they had a picture of this old scarf right beside another scarf similar to it that read Missouri. I guess in the movie Julia and Julia (which I have not seen yet) there are these framed scarfs from the different states above a bed. Seems people liked the look and are going crazy over these collectible scarfs. Well, I just happen to have this one given to me by my Uncle Jim a few years back. It was his mom's, my grandma's. I guess now the Kansas one is worth $48. It's priceless to me but it does make me wonder where they come up with the worth of collectible items. $48? Why not $45 or $50? odd. As pretty as it is, I'm sure if I would of found it at a garage sale I would of had trouble rationalizing paying anything more than a quarter for it. Maybe a dollar at auction.

This is my old girl Val. We had a snowy day today and COLD! I took her to work with me since it was going to be hard to go back home and let her out on my lunch hour. Don't let the picture fool you. She LOVES going to work with me!! She just hates waiting in the kennel and would rather follow me around all day and beg everyone she meets for food. I asked her doctor to do a physical on her since she was there (since we were all there) for the day anyway. She just had one in September by the way. She has not been acting sick or different or anything. I work at the vet and employees get free physical exams on 4 pets, which is very nice, especially since I have 3 geriatric pets, so I try to make the most of that benefit! Valentine has had a mild heart murmur for about 4 years now. Barely audible. A 1/6. Guess what? Today, it was a lot worse. A 4/6 with 6 being BAD, like die anytime, BAD. We x-rayed her heart and it is enlarged but not bad. She also has high blood pressure. We drew blood and sent it out to the lab. Her blood work has always been perfect so I hope it is that way tomorrow when I find out. She will however be adding a heart medication to her daily pill regime. boo-whooooo. Makes me sad. She will be 17 in January and she is my little darling. I know they can't live forever. I just don't want her to get sick. She is happy like a puppy now and always has been.

This is her when we got there today. Notice the snow by the door. It is so cold here today!

Tonight, at work,I answered a phone call from a man named Charlie. He said he had a strange question and asked if we had any cat food we would be getting rid of, or any samples. He said he loved his cat but just couldn't afford to buy him any food right now. I put him on hold, knowing we didn't have any actual bags of food for free. I decided just to buy one and let him pick it up. I get on the phone and say, "sure, can you get here before 7pm because that is when we are closed?" Then he asks me just to leave it outside. It's 9° outside. He would be walking several miles to get it and wouldn't make it before we closed. His house had burnt down and he was staying in a local motel and had no transportation. I told him I would deliver it to the lobby of the motel so he wouldn't have to walk in the cold. I rounded up a bag of food plus several bags of cat treats that were donated to us. I couldn't help but wonder as I'm getting all this together if Charlie would be eating any of it himself. I also couldn't help but wonder if it was all legit. Was I getting into a con? Would I be mugged, car jacked or worse. It's a shame we live in a world where it's so hard to do something nice for someone. You have to fear for your own safety because there are people that will prey on your generosity and compassion. I prayed on the way to meet him that God would put a hedge of protection around me and "please God, don't let Charlie be a serial killer". I found Charlie waiting for me beside the lobby door. He was very kind and said if I seen his cat I would understand and his cats name was Frogger. He thanked me multiple times and I couldn't help but tear up as I got back into my car and looked at my beautiful warm dog with her tummy always full. How blessed I am, how lucky I've been. My prayer should of been for Charlie and his family all the way there! If your reading this, please pray for their situation and may God direct other strangers into their lives.