I don’t want too much more time to pass without acknowledge the passing of Barbs mom, Eloise. And our favorite auntie, Irene

When Barb’s dad passed away, Barbs mom and Sarah moved from Yuma to Florida. They had a cute place on 3rd North right by the park. It was good having them here. Out of the desert and on to the beach. Although G G (Great Grandma) missed her friends and the good times in Yuma, she got the opportunity to meet, hold, play with and bond with Parker and Tobias. Her great grandsons. Something that never could have happened if she stayed in Yuma.

Having them so close meant plenty of lunches and dinners together. And of course our best little neighbor friends got the full GG experience. Plus Sarah got a babysitting gig!

Speaking of dinners. GG loves lobster. We must have gone out for at least 10 lobster (for her anyway) dinners. It was fun and she was living it up a little.

One of the highlights of her year with us was when her sister, our auntie, Irene came for a visit with cousin Cindy. It was special. They both knew that this was their last time together so they were considerably nice to each other lol.

GG had been on hospice since she got here and for some time in Yuma. She was in pain and handled it really well. The last time she was over the house she was teasing Kelly about her feux fur coat. When it was very close we all went over and gave everyone chance to say goodbye. Barb and Sarah stayed with her til the end.

I always liked auntie Irene. I think she liked me too. I also think that auntie I liked Barb best out of all the Smith.girls.

She was old school auntie. She came to ‘help” when the kids were born. Told us what to do lol. I think she was the one to convince us to get Kelly’s ears pierced way to young. She was a great cook. I still make her salsa. She also plays big part in the whole Rodriguez enchilada making machine. She liked it spicy too!!

When Auntie I passed and Cindy was cleaning out her things she came across two pics of her and Eloise when they were kids. Just a couple.of Redwood City girls goofing for the camera. I loved those so much I made copies to hang in our house.

I hope these two little girls are smiling down on us from heaven

This trip to Betty sit while Kelly traveled was a good one. I already mentioned how good Betty is to watch and how we were in our groove this week.

Kelly’s place is a little gem. It’s 500 feet to Granada beach. It’s two blocks to 2nd Street where the restaurants, the gym, the weed store, hardware store and coffee shops are. Her Neighborhood is Belmont shores. The neighborhood started in the 1920s. There is a good mix of original small beach houses and modern marvels. You can tell the neighborhood is established by the landscaping. They have the biggest and tallest palm trees I’ve ever seen. They have succulents and plants and trees that have been growing for decades. It’s beautiful just walking around and checking out all the cool houses and their front yards. What I like about Kelly’s place is the natural light. She has. Big front window that faces the street. A big bird of paradise grows in front of the window gives her both privacy and a nice nature vibe.

Could not ask for better weather! Socal had been going through a heat wave for the last month. These guys don’t know what a heat wave is. I come from the land of “feels like 113.” Either way it started to cool down some once I got here. 62 degrees one morning walking Betty. The low-to-no humidity was what I noticed and appreciated the most. Really noticed it on the evening walks, just how fresh the air was lol.

The stay was very relaxing. Listened to a lot of music. Jim’s Hot 100 on Spotify was my go to. There are 425 songs on the hot 100 now. Stayed on my eating routine. Drank my water, had my tea. Went on some nice walks to the beach or around the hood. Worked out at the gym a couple of times. Walked to the grocery store a few times to get food for dinner. Cooked dinner for my self, with some treats for Betty.

Did a couple chores for Kelly while she was gone. Installed a new keyless deadbolt on the front door. New door knob on the garage door. Watered plants. Unclogged the shower drain. Repotted some plants.

I told Kelly this was like a retreat for me. I leave relaxed, refreshed and revived. Kelly could make some big bucks if she wanted to air b&b her place for the upcoming summer olympics. Location location location !

I got to tell you, the Betty sitting gig at Kelly’s is pretty pretty pretty good. I fly in, spend a day with Kelly, she leaves, then Betty and me hang out for 4 nights. Kelly gets back. We spend the next day together and I fly home early next morning.

That’s the general overview. Bottom line is I’m here to watch Betty. Keep her safe and sound, fed and walked until Kelly gets home.

Betty is very easy to take care of. She has a routine and likes to stick to it. Here is Betty’s prefect day. Which is most days.

Morning walk around 7am

Farmers dog breakfast

Lazy Morning

Mid day walk

Lazy afternoon

Farmers dogs dinner

Evening walk

Bed

This is Betty’s dream life and she has it down. The morning walk is a long walk around the neighborhood. Same way everyday. Stop at the median to pee, sniff all the good smells on Ocean Blvd. If she has to poop she’ll head back to another median to do her business. Then up the street to where there is a doggy snack jar that Betty loves to visit. Then back home.

Mid day walk is a shorty, quick one block up and one block over to ANOTHER dog snack jar. Pee along the way. If she’s good we go back the way we came. If she wants to poop or take the long way home we do. But mostly it’s an out and back, and all about the snack.

When Kelly walks Betty, the evening walk is a drive to the park then walk. Betty also has a “no-drive” evening walk in her playbook. That is, a quick walk down to Ocean, across to the median to pee, the cross the rest of the way over to the sidewalk at Granada beach. This is where soi dog Betty is in her element. There can be food scraps, street meat and the such that ends up in the landscaped area next to the sidewalk. Even if there is nothing she is smelling something. She’ll sniff and smell her way along until she’s had enough or until she poops. Then it’s home straight away.

The first time I came out to watch Betty, I was asking Kelly about walking Betty and she said “Betty will show you where she want to go.” That’s truth. Betty leads the way. I just make sure that she doesn’t dart into traffic (which she would do) or eat street meat (ditto). She pulled a bacon wrapped hot dog out from under a bush on my first walk with her and Kelly!

Around the house Betty likes to take it easy. She breaks things up by having 4 sleeping spots. Her dog bed in Kelly’s room, under Kelly’s bed, corner by the couch or next to Kelly’s WFH desk. She also has a nice little outside area on Kelly’s porch.

If Betty has a passion it’s logs. Kelly bought her one of these plush logs with holes for squirrels when she.first got her. She really took a liking to the log and pretty much nothing else. She would eventually chew the log to where it needed replacing and Kelly would replace it. One thing leads to another and now Betty has enough plush logs in her dog bed to build a plush log cabin !

Three walks, two square meals, filtered water, belly rubs, snacks, logs, and lots of rest.

That is Betty Flaherty’s life.

She’s come a long way from the motorcycle chasing street dog living days in Thailand.