Nutmeg's Favorite Things

To my Project 365 friends...Taffy was sad tonite so I had her talk with me about my favorite things and promise I could post on 365 one more time. I've had a very happy life. I missed getting to do many of my favorite things this past year, but I still got lots of hugs, pets, and treats. And I got to spend more time with Taffy and Jim that ever before because someone was almost always home with me. That was great. Here are my other most favorite (and a few least favorite) things. Thank you for all your nice notes to me when I posted about our drive up to Beaver Island.

You don't need to read anymore. The rest of this is to make Taffy smile when she thinks of me and not be sad.

These are a few of my favorite things…
Swimming – anywhere!
Rolling in Leaves –
Getting brushed – because Taffy says over and over, You are a beautiful girl!
Digging in sand –
Sitting with my people
Sleeping on my couch in Taffy’s study. Better when she sits with me sleeping on it.
Treats – especially peanut butter
Bugs – catching and eating them by myself
Sitting – I’m the best sitter ever. I won an award when I was a puppy for sitting faster than any other dog in the class and I wasn’t even registered for it!
Children – they give me food even when they don’t plan on it (I know, stealing is bad)
Other dogs – watching them play
Looking down from the tops of stairs.
Cuddling.
Going for rides in cars on the ground and cars that go in the sky
My blue bed on Beaver Island. Taffy says it’s the same as the one in Chicago, but I know it is more special.
Squeaky toys – when someone else makes them squeak first

Things I don’t like…
Going for long walks. I’d rather go for a ride.
Onions and carrots unless they are soaked in chicken soup.
When Jim yells at the TV during something called “a game”
Thunder – it is awful!
Rain – it might bring thunder!
Computers – they keep my people’s hands too busy to pet me.

My portrait (I do like this!): http://365project.org/taffy/365/2013-06-22

[👑 AnaZad]

Wonderful collage and amazing list that I have enjoyed so much reading :)

[Carol Estes]

What a cutie!

[Alison Tomlin]

A great collage of her wonderful life

[jayn]

lovely collage of a beautiful dog

[carol white]

A beautiful collage of a life well lived. Wonderful memories!!

[judith deacon]

A wonderful collage of a very happy life and one that will leave you with wonderful memories.

[Trudi Oliver]

beautiful collage x

[Elisabeth Sæter]

Wonderful collage!

[Daryl O'Hare]

I love this collage by Nutmeg--what a clever and wonderful dog to leave such a thoughtful and loving list for those days of remembrance. Taffy, another huge virtual hug. Thanks for including us in this. :)

[Judith Johnson]

What a thoughtful tribute, and a wonderful friend.

[Pam Knowler]

What a beautiful collage of a gorgeous dog!!

[Taffy]

@busylady Thank you Judith. She really was a great friend and companion.

@pamknowler Thanks Pam. I have to say, biased though I am, that she was a beautiful dog in looks and in spirit. Very gentle and sweet.

[Ann H. LeFevre]

A lovely send off- my favorite- lower right corner! RIP Nutmeg- you were a treasure!

[elkehochban]

Lovely, brought tears to my eyes. Hugs!

[Liane]

beautiful tribute

[joey d.Muli]

Wonderful tribute .

[JulieCo]

I was too choked up and my eyes too blurry with tears to make a comment when I read this last night. My husband came in from the garden and asked what was up. I could hardly speak. I think a lot of my residual grief from the loss of Hero welled up in me. We miss him in so many elements of our lives and not a day passes when we don't recall one of his little foibles. I empathise with you at this time but it helps to remember everything you enjoyed together.

[Kazzy]

A fabulous tribute collage! I love her expression in the one with the little boy (grandson?) sitting on her...classic!

[KWind]

So sorry your Nutmeg is gone! Looks like she had a wonderful life!!

[Taffy]

@olivetreeann Thank you Ann. That's the top of our stairs inside our condo in Chicago. Back in the days when she could do stairs on her own (or even with our help), she used to love laying there and watching downstairs (where I usually was). Anytime she had access to stairs, the top is where she wanted to be.

[Taffy]

@timandelke I didn't want to make others cry (I thinkI was doing enough for the rest of the world!). But thank you for sharing my sadness over losing her.

[Taffy]

@lfrans @jodimuli Thank you Liane and Jodi.

[Taffy]

@julieco Thank you Julie for sharing your experience with me. I have a feeling it will be a long time for me not to choke up thinking about her, as you feel about Hero. I'm guessing he had as big a presence in your life as Nutmeg in ours. We are sort of at a loss today, but I am trying hard to just keep thinking of all those favorite things she was able to do and all she brought into our lives.

[Taffy]

@kazlamont That was Nate, our grandson, who was born the same year as her. He loved riding her as a toddler and she was always so gentle with him and all little ones.

[Taffy]

@kwind Thank you Kim. She did have a great life and made ours the better for being in it. She really was a very special dog.

[colie (Nichole Stewart)]

Wonderful memory collage Taffy:) I will miss Nutmegs posts. Sending love.

[Yao RL]

There are so many cute captures in it. I wish that I had a huge screen.

[Taffy]

@colie Thank you Colie -- I appreciate it. A day at a time now...and reminding myself what a great 13 years we had together.

@yaorenliu Thanks Yao. It was hard to narrow down the choice to these as of course, we have hundreds and hundreds of photos of her over the years. I'm glad you liked these.

[Marloes]

Great collage... So sad for you that you've to miss her... I loved the way you wrote about her. So intimate... I send you strenghth... X

[elkehochban]

@taffy we're all in this together - anyone who's ever lost a pet knows exactly what you're feeling. My Brandy has been gone for ten years now and I still get a lump in my throat from time to time. Like Nutmeg, she was in a lot of pain during the last years of her life and her passing was an end to her suffering.

[Ness Santvoort]

I'm crying, but I love looking at the photos of Nutmeg from when she was a puppy, what beautiful memories you've created of her

[Taffy]

@ness50 Oh Vanessa, you are so sweet. Now I'm crying again...made it through several hours today not crying...it's so hard! But I keep reminding myself this is not a tragic loss the way I've seen on one of the discussion threads tonite. We really had such a wonderful life with her. I just wish the end would have been different.

[Ness Santvoort]

@taffy - so sorry to upset you,

[Taffy]

@ness50 No no ... it takes very little to set me off!! You didn't upset me. The opposite -- it means so much to me that my 365 community friends have been so wonderful and actually taken the time to comment and write about Nutmeg. I really had done this all more as a journal entry for the year and had imagined that most would skip over. It's been overwhelming to see such a warm response and it's meant so much to me!

[Daniel]

Lovely collage. Thanks for sharing and giving us an insight into how special Nutmeg was. I have enjoyed reading her posts and will miss them.

[Ness Santvoort]

@taffy keep smiling :)

[Suse♡]

Great collage and story of her. She really was loved a lot and she loved you. I wish you a lot of strenght Taffy.

[Nicole]

what a wonderful collage!!

[Katie]

Lovely collage and collection of her thoughts.

[Vee]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I love seeing Nutmeg in all the happy stages of her life. My canine buddy, Scooter passed away suddenly almost exactly a year ago and I really tried to focus on how lucky we were to have him in our life. Sounds like you are trying to do the same:)

[Taffy]

@susale Thank you Susale. Strength is a wonderful thing to wish for me and I appreciate it. I have so valued my 365 friends' responses.

@nicoleterheide Thank you Nicole.

@archaeofrog Thank you Katie -- it gave me something to talk with her about that last night and made me smile. And I know a happy sound of my voice was important for her to keep hearing.

@vskolnik Vee, I'm sorry to hear you've been through this with your losing Scooter suddenly. I know we were fortunate in a way, because we've had a lot of time to prepare.

[Catherine Pace]

oh no - i am crying stupidly now - what a gorgeous little pup she was - our pets deserve to be missed and grieved over

[Taffy]

@gozoinklings Oh, I'm sorry to have made you cry -- really wasn't my intent. But it is comforting for some reason to know that people all over the country/world 'knew' Nutmeg and could grieve her loss with me. Thank you!

[Laurie]

OMG I just stumbled upon this and the tears are streaming down my face. I am so sorry for your loss. I lost my dog Harley to cancer in 2009. He was more of a child to me than a pet. I made a very similar digital photo tribute for him as well. Nutmeg was a beautiful and very lucky dog!

[Taffy]

@luvmynynix Laurie, I'm sorry I made you cry! And totally can relate to how you feel. It's such an empty feeling, isn't it? Nutmeg was very much like our child and just a soulmate. Harley must have been equally as fortunate to have spent his life with you. Thank you so much for your lovely comment.

[Laurie]

@taffy Aw, thanks, but don't be sorry...I'm Pisces...that's what we do! :) I just know how hard it is to see your dog through health complications. Funny you said soulmate, my Harley was such an old soul. I have loved every dog I have ever had with all my heart, but there was something different about him. :)

[Taffy]

@luvmynynix Interesting -- that's what my husband and I have said about Nutmeg. We've had three dogs together (one was mine and 8 when he met JIm) and all were wonderful companions, but Nutmeg was off the charts in sweetness and companionship. We were lucky to have her 13 years, given the lifespan of the breed. What kind was Harley?

[Laurie]

@taffy Harley was a hound mix. We got him from a shelter and although he loved us both, he was very connected to me. He used to wait in the window for me and then run down to the door as soon as he saw my car pull in. One day my neighbor caught me before going in the house and I went across the street and into her house with her. Harley started moaning at the door, so my husband too him outside...he started at the door handle of my car and tracked me all the way to my neighbor's front door. He was such a great dog. He's been gone four years and I still miss him dearly!