This time ten years ago, I was meeting Toby for the first time.

When I got him, I never DREAMED I’d have him for ten years. Heck, when I posted about my eighth Toby-versary, I doubted I’d be here.

Whether we’ll see an 11th Toby-versary is anyone’s guess. If I had to place a bet today, I’d say, “no.” (Ask me on a day when he acts like a puppy, and you’ll get a different answer.) His heart disease continues to progress. He’s slowing down physically. He walks like a very old man a lot of the time. He’s very, very sleepy, probably from his heart disease as well as simply from old age. Long story short, I know he’s winding down.

We’re trying to keep him having fun and moving as much as he is able. This is one reason why we enrolled him in nose work. LOOK! Twelve-year-old dog doing nose work!

I also learned a bit about tracking last weekend and Toby did a few “baby tracks.”

We don’t have illusions that Toby will be end up a champion nose worker or tracker. In fact, we may not do much more of either. (He has just three more classes.) But he’s having fun, which makes me happy.

So, we’ll see. He’s 12 now (on Nov. 19), which is on the high end of a Cavalier’s life expectancy. The vet says we’ve done a great job with him. I think we’ve done a great job with him. I just wish he could live forever.

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First, I am fine. Ed is fine. My parents are fine.

Large portions of the very small town in which my parents live, however, are not. About 8:45 p.m., I learned that a tornado a mile wide was headed straight for their town. The town has a population of about 1,000. Mile-wide tornado + small town = the possibility of really bad news. I was terrified waiting for them to call after it was over.

It is scary to see video shot by a local newspaper that shows disarray in the downtown that contains this gazebo where Ed and I had our photo taken after our wedding five years ago tomorrow…

And to see shots of cars coming across this bridge we walked across after the wedding…

And to see huge trees uprooted in the park where we took photos on our walk after the wedding.

The park is also where we went for a walk with Francis and my sister when they visited two years ago just after Christmas.

As I said, my parents are fine. Their house is fine. But a house less than a mile from them (as the crow flies) was completely destroyed. That house wasn’t the only one destroyed. But it was the house my dad was at when I called to check in on them again this morning. (Another severe thunderstorm hit after we talked last night.) Dad was helping the owners gather up what could be salvaged. There wasn’t much.

This all hit WAY too close to home. It could have been my parents’ home. Or my parents. So many people were killed from these storms.

By the way, the video I mentioned? It was taken yesterday MORNING after a bad storm including lots of straight-line winds came through. So, the worst was still 12 hours in the future.

I am so thankful my parents are o.k. I am praying for the families of those who are not.

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To recap, Atlanta had about six inches of snow last Sunday night, followed by freezing rain on Monday. Atlanta isn’t good with snow and ice (not much snow/ice removal equipment), but usually this isn’t a big deal because it warms right up. However, this last week the snow and freezing rain were followed by days of below-freezing temperatures. The snow and ice didn’t go anywhere. Most Atlanta-area school systems were closed all week. My office was closed three full days — as were many offices. Thursday and Friday the office didn’t open until 11. It was a mess. (I could go on for paragraphs.)

Temperatures were above freezing all weekend. However, you wouldn’t know it by looking at our yard this morning.

Not much different from last Monday, huh?

This is our driveway this morning.

I’ll still need my boots to navigate it tomorrow morning.

By contrast, this is my across-the-street neighbor’s driveway.

Dry.

Yes, we have a “battle” of snow vs. no snow in our neighborhood.

Isn’t that wild?

It was an interesting week, one that we’re not likely to experience again for a LONG time (think decades, please, God!). But, Ed and I are going to buy a snow shovel, just in case.

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We got a big old snowstorm (by our standards) in Atlanta last night. We had 4.5 inches in the first hour and a half or so after it started snowing. We ended up with up to 6 inches in our yard (depending on where I measured). Then, we had some freezing rain. That turned the snow slick, and the streets didn’t benefit at all, as you might imagine.

One of the folks I follow on Twitter had to drive through downtown Atlanta this morning. She lives near Chicago. She said “this storm would put Chicago under.” She was gracious enough not to say that in Chicago they have the equipment to clear the interstate (and every other road) so it wouldn’t be an ice skating rink. :)

What’s making this so bad is that the sun won’t come out until Wednesday. (The screenwriter of “Annie” must have lived in California.) It won’t get above freezing except for an hour or two tomorrow. It won’t get above freezing much all week. The lows several nights will be in the teens.

Our office was closed today, and I learned late this afternoon that our office will be closed tomorrow. Knowing that eventually I’ll have to drive to work in the ice and snow, this morning Ed and I took a walk along the route I’ll take to get out of our subdivision.

Our street

I have to stop at the stop sign below. Good luck with that, I know.

The turn at that stop sign

The street after I’ve turned right at the stop sign

The street ends at the stop sign. It’s on a hill.

In order to make it up the hill and onto the “main”ish street, this car (after a failed first attempt after which it went in reverse back down the hill) got a head of steam, didn’t stop at the stop sign (which was dicey as a car was coming), and turned left at the stop sign.

He fishtailed a bit shortly after he turned.

And this is the “main”ish road that I travel on for about a mile before I reach the U.S. highway I use until about five miles from work.

Yes, I’m standing in the middle of the road.

Ed doubts this road will be plowed tomorrow, though I expect that the U.S. highway will be plowed. Not sure about the road I drive on the last 5 miles.

So, yes, the next few days are going to be interesting. I’m grateful that the office is closed again tomorrow, so I don’t have to worry about it for awhile.

In the meantime, we’ll stay inside as much as we can. (The dogs vote “no” on being outside. What’s the weather like where you are?

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Francis, 1 day old (January 9, 2005)

He was born at just under 32 weeks gestation.

Francis, 11 weeks old (March 2005), and me

Francis, about 20 months old (September 2006), and me

Francis, November/December 2008 (from a post about his 4th birthday)

Francis, December 2009, and Toby (the next time I saw Francis after September 2006)

Francis, Fall 2010 (1st grade — he skipped kindergarten: smart boy!)

Today is his 6th birthday.

How did he get so big? My sister says he looks like he’s about 13 in this photo, and I have to agree.

And, I should be an aunt again this summer. Francis and his new brother or sister will be 6 1/2 years apart.

Happy birthday, Francis. I love you.

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I wish tonight’s lunar eclipse weren’t in the middle of the night — or that I didn’t have to work tomorrow.

This is my favorite shot from the last total lunar eclipse (on Feb. 21, 2008).

And this is my favorite artsy shot from that eclipse.

I looked back at my whole post from that day, and I am still pretty pleased with the shots. However, I don’t yet have the better lens with which to photograph the moon that I was hoping for. Sigh…

If you want to photograph the eclipse — or the moon any other time — a post I wrote for Blissfully Domestic two years ago might help. It offers three tips for photographing the moon. Have fun!

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Yesterday, Toby, Ed and I went to the Reindog Parade at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. (Fox doesn’t like this sort of event, so he stayed home.) Basically, it’s an excuse to dress up your dog (and, sometimes, yourself) and take your dog to the Gardens, the only day they’re allowed.

Victoria Stilwell of “It’s Me or the Dog” was our emcee. (I’ve never seen the show, but I hope to catch its next season.)

There were more than 100 dogs in the parade.

Hey! It’s Toby!

Victoria said that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels make excellent Reindogs. A judge agreed, apparently, and took his photo.

Here’s another Cavalier. We saw six or seven throughout the day.

This gal won an award.

As did this dog.

And this one.

Lots of other dogs won as well, including a group of rescue dogs who, along with their humans, dressed as the folks from A Christmas Carol. They also took the Best in Show prize.

After the parade, we put Toby in a Santa hat for a few minutes.

Then we looked at some of the other sights at the Garden.

All of the photos from the day are on my Flickr page in their own set.

If Toby’s up to it next year, we’ll take him again. And if he’s not, we’ll go without dogs. It was that much fun.

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Last year on this day, I told the story of how I came to adopt Toby on the 8th anniversary of my doing so.

I can’t believe a year has gone by since then.

These photos are from this morning.

He’s not changed much in the last year in how he looks physically. And, his heart seems to be stable. However, in the last few weeks, we’ve noticed that he’s moving around a little more slowly. Cold laser therapy is helping, but it’s obvious he’s getting older.

We’re off to enjoy a five-mile hike at the Elachee Nature Science Center. We may have to carry him for a bit of it, but the dog loves to hike, and we want to get this in while we can.

I wonder what the next year will bring?

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Ed has wanted to go to Cloudland Canyon State Park forever. Actually, we went last year, but for reasons I can’t remember, we weren’t able to really hike.

The park is about three hours from our house, so I haven’t been much inclined to go. However, my parents went last weekend and reported it was GORGEOUS. So, I decided to surprise him, and we went yesterday.

It WAS gorgeous!

I was pooped after the five-mile hike. We were glad we hadn’t brought the dogs, as it was pretty strenuous, and we have old dogs. In fact, parts of it reminded me of the Panther Creek hike. There were some STEEP drop-offs, which made me nervous, especially on the way back when I was so tired. When I get tired, I get stupid — and clumsy.

Next, we went back to Rock City. It was also gorgeous.

(This self-portrait was taken on the swinging bridge. A couple of years ago, I took one with our shadow on the rock in the photo above this one. You can see that photo here. Also, the “pooch” you might notice? It’s my terribly attractive fanny pack/two sweatshirts tied around my waist, NOT a baby bump. :)

You can see the rest of my photos from the day on Flickr. These are also my Weekly Winners. Go see Lotus for more. :)

It was a fun day. :)

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