What a Way to Go Out

Just a quick update on the Harwood situation. What do you do with a 70# dog after he has been put down? In the Westcott/Knott Families they get buried in Mom and Dad's Fern Garden. The process to have your dog cremated here on Okinawa is a bit complicated. Heath and I had to go pick him up and deliver him to a little old Japanese man named Joe who owns a grooming business out in town. Apparently he worked at the base Vets office for 40 years and knows his way around the Pet Funeral business. When we got to Joe's we met the "Mortician", so to speak, who was a very sweet and concerned lady. We got the low down on their cremation services and facilities through a mixture of single words in both Japanese/English, photo brochures and sign language. We then put Harwood (frozen like an ice cube...YUCK) in the back of her teeny little car and off we went. I think we were afforded about 50 VERY respectful bows during our encounter. To make a long story short.....I picked him up a few days later in a lovely package and set off to mail him to Mom and Dad. The post office here on base had never mailed pet remains and it took us a bit to figure out what we had to do. You'll be happy to know that Harwood is now sitting proudly in Mom's china cabinet awaiting for a proper burial in the Fern Garden. We'll be there soon buddy......

Adios.....Tonsils

Gracie did it and came through with flying colors. Good riddens to the pesky tonsils that have given her fits forever. Gracie had her surgery today at about 10am. The surgery lasted about 30 minutes and we were home about 2 hours later. Our friend Jamie Oberman did the surgery and all the hospital staff was fantastic (GO Navy....) Thanks everyone for all the kind phone calls, thoughts, prayers.

Harwood Wyatt Westcott -12/94-1/5/2009

Parting is such sweet sorrow.....the dreaded day finally arrived. I posted back in July about Harwood's failing health. Since then his tumor had grown drastically. When we got home from our trip on 12/28 we were told and noted that he was doing well (he had been going on his walks, all bodily functions were happening and he was eating well). This past Monday it became evident that the tumor was too large and Harwood was unable to do the things he regularly did during his day. He was very uncomfortable, weak and was almost unable to lift his back side off the floor. I made the decision (Heath was TAD and we had discussed the options) that I needed to put him down (I don't like that term). I was able to see the Vet that afternoon. Harwood had been seen by the Vet about a month ago for a "Euthanasia Consult" so they were familiar with his issues. All things considered the process could not have been more pleasant. Harwood was nicely sedated before the final medication was given. I was able to hold his head and smile into his eyes as he passed over. As you can imagine I was crying, crying, crying and I am happy I didn't wear any mascara. We are going to MISS that dog. I miss the barking, panting and the sounds of a slow moving dog throughout the house. Vaya con Dios sweet puppy.

Epic Asia Holiday

You must be asking yourself, "Is she CRAZY.......four slide shows in one posting"? Well, once I figured out how to make a slide show for my blog it was all over...More the merrier, ehh? I hope you enjoy the photos.

Let me tell you about this trip we took. We started planning our holiday in 11/07 when my parents were visiting here in Okinawa. On a whim we took a look at cruises around Asia. We booked our cruise that same day (splurging on suites mind you) and the trip morphed from there. The first slide show is of our Bangkok festivities. The second shows us in Chiang Mai, the third is of Cambodia and the 4th details the cruise. In the pictures you will see Dave and Connie (Salley's parents), the Okinawa Westcotts and Lynda (Heath's mom) and Joseph (Lynda's fiance). The Fosters and the Carlsons met us in Singapore where the cruise started. We visited the following places: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Siem Reap, Singapore, Phuket, Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur....Whew....That's alot of moving around.

We did a ton. We rode in airplanes, on subways, in Tuk Tuks, and jeeps. We sailed the ocean blue on a huge ocean liner, hauled butt in a long tipped boat in Bangkok and took our lives in our hands in various taxis. We walked everywhere, rode on elephants and sailed through the sky on ziplines. We explored quiet Thai neighborhoods on rickety bikes and had tandem bike races through the Ancient City. We swam, we lounged, we ate and drank (very HOT food in Thailand) and we had a great time. We even had a small Christmas party in Dave and Connie's room on Christmas where we exchanged gifts and thanked our lucky stars.

It's going to be hard to top this latest adventure, but we'll have to take that challenge. Thanks Mom, Dad, G's, Heath, Lynda, JoJo, Fosters and Carlsons. I'll travel with you guys any time. Here's to good times, good friends and a good life. Love you all.....

Happy New Year Everyone

Wishing you well from Okinawa