Browse Category: dog

Saying Goodbye

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This is one of my favorite photos of KK and Koa.

This evening, KK heard a dog barking outside and said “That’s not Koa, right?” I said “You’re right, that’s not Koa”.  Then she followed up with “It’s because Koa’s dead and I didn’t get to say goodbye before he died”.  It took me aback since today is the 3rd anniversary of his passing. After a long pause, I  told her “No, you actually did say goodbye at the hospital.” She looked confused so I found this old video that we took before we let him go.

https://youtu.be/Sovj0Ns60XI

She watched it, giggled a little, and said “Oh.” I’m not sure how well she remembers him but she always talks about him. KK turned 4 1/2 years old today and each half-birthday for KK will always leave a bittersweet feeling for me.

https://youtu.be/fh3BAmLXdlY

He left us on the day she turned 18 months old and I will never forget that day – especially when we came home without him that afternoon. I’m so glad that KK had some quality time with him but sad that he couldn’t stick around to meet Peanut. They would have had so much fun together.

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Cousins

IMG_6021We visiting Jia and Jason this afternoon and it looks like they are settling into their new life as parents quite well.  The twins are sleeping, eating, and pooping as they should be and Jia is adjusting to motherhood gracefully.

IMG_6026It was also very cute to see KK’s response to the twins.  She had looked forward to meeting them all week but started out with some hesitation.  After the initial warm-up, she was so attentive and would run into the room any time one of them started to cry.  She watched Auntie Jia feed them and was so interested.

IMG_5180It reminded me a lot of when KK was first born and Koa used to run to her every time she cried.

IMG_6019Toni has become the better eater and settles down rather quickly afterward.IMG_6020Thomas has become the more temperamental one and needs a little more coaxing to eat.IMG_6040Here they are in the pack-n-play together for the first time.  They were both a little irritable and weren’t able to soothe each other just yet.  That’s Thomas on the left and Toni on the right.

This is gonna be a fun year for all of us!  I can’t wait for Peanut to arrive so that we can have the whole gang together.  After watching her interactions this evening with the twins, I am confident that KK will be a great big sister.  It’s gonna be a lot of work but so fun at the same time!

I still miss him.

IMG_5091My Koa Bear would have turned 11 years old today.  I woke up this morning at 1 am and realized it was his birthday and had a hard time falling back asleep.  I guess I still miss this doggie as if he passed away just a week ago.

DSC_1874aOh, I miss his funny habits like sleeping in the laundry basket and eating his kibble late at night.  I still anticipate hearing him trot over each time I crack an egg too.  I don’t necessarily miss walking him in the rain but the early morning walks on Sundays were nice.

DSC_8108We would love to get another shiba but it might not be the best time right now since we’ll be adding another human to our family this summer.

DSC_5393Happy Birthday, Koa.  We miss you.

October

Is it really October 26th already?!  Didn’t I JUST celebrate my birthday?!  Well, this has been a busy month at work and at home and has likely resulted in the sprouting of 4 grey hairs on the top of my head this month.  *sigh*

The rate of blogging on beakatude hasn’t been as frequent as it used to be.  It’s been so bad lately that I felt the need to recap some highlights from this month before it ends.  I’ll be traveling down to Cerritos for Halloween/Alice’s Birthday and that will require an entire post or two all on its own.

Let’s start out with some tasty eats from this month:

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These are the mini waffles and 6 fried chicken wings that I had Little Skillet.  Actually, they opened up a bar/restaurant right next door to the window and called it Victory Hall & Parlor.  They serve the same menu but now there’s plenty of places to sit and you can order a drink too!

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Ah…this is an old favorite and still as good as the first one I had.  It’s an open-faced smoked salmon sandwich from Cap’n Mike’s Holy Smoke at the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.  KK likes it because she gets all of my capers.

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For brunch one morning, I had this Crab and Avocado Eggs Benedict from a food truck called Benedict Arnold’s.  It was parked at the SOMA StrEat Food Park on the morning we were there waiting for our car to be serviced by the Costco Tire Center.

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It’s been nice and warm this month and we had dinner outdoors one night at Sauce, located in the Belden Place alley.  These are the tater tots: made of pureed potato with bits of bacon mixed in, rolled into balls, and then fried.  Reminded me of miniature potato croquettes.

OK.  Now for the rest of this month:

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As I had mentioned, we had a warm first half of October.  It was warm enough to take a dip in our pool.

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Fleet Week came and left.  I saw the Blue Angels fly over the Bay Bridge one evening as I was driving home from work as they were practicing for the weekend show.  We missed the show this year (on both days!) because it coincided with KK’s nap.  Oh well, at least I got to see them from our condo window every once in a while.

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I did a lot of running this past month and enjoyed a few solo runs in the wee hours of the morning.  This morning was particularly neato because the fog was rolling over the bridge near Treasure Island.

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This is my favorite photo of the month.  It looks staged but it was completely not.  I was just able to press the button on my phone at just the right time.  I also love the fact that KK can pump a swing now.

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For Halloween this year, KK is going to be Piglet from Winnie the Pooh.  I decided to make her costume and was able to whip it out during her nap on the day I stayed home to take her to the doctor for her check-up.  Here’s my pattern for the body.  It came out a little long but I managed to tweak it just fine.  You’ll see the final product a little later this week.

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Sleep deprivation has also been a theme for this month.  KK has been going through some weird sleep patterns this month and she kept me up every 1-2 hours all night for the past 3 days.  Luckily she sorta figured it out last night and I got to sleep in 4-hour chunks.  Woot!

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And finally, the Giants have made it to the World Series again for the third time in the seven years we’ve lived here.  IMG_9261

This was the scene around the 7th inning last night before the crowd rushed out.  The energy is actually pretty fun and the rowdiness has been peaceful so far (because they’re winning).  I’m rooting for them to win the whole thing just out of fear that my neighborhood will be rioted if they don’t.  Go Giants.IMG_9260

Some people at work don’t believe that I live RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from AT&T Park when they ask me where I live.  This is the view from our front door and that’s Willie Mays Plaza right out front.

And of course, this month will always have significance to me because the anniversary of Koa’s passing, which also falls on the same day of KK’s half-birthday.  I’m glad I took that day off this year.

So there you have it…most of October in a nutshell.  Before I can even catch my breath from this month, it’ll be Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then 2015 in a flash.  I’d better stop once in a while to appreciate the things around me.  Luckily, I take photos of everything to remind me of how I’m spending my time and energy.  My memory is certainly not as good as it used to be.

I miss him.

koa signOne year ago today, we lost Koa to kidney failure. At times, it seems surreal that he’s actually gone.

DSC_2897I think about him daily and wonder what kind of trouble he and KK would be up to if he was still around.  KK loves watching videos of him and looks at the painting on our wall when she eats dinner and often says “it’s Mama and Koa”. I’m still amazed at how patient he was with her.

Running KoaI get a little choked up when I run along parts of McCovey Cove or when we drive past Fort Funston.  We sometimes talk about getting another dog.  I know we’ll never be able to replace him and will it be weird to get another shiba?

Thanks to my Brother, makakoa.org is still up and running.  He happened to renew the domain name just before his passing so we still have it for a couple more years.

Miss you, Koa Bear.

Trinity

IMG_4163Our department got a new therapy dog from Canine Companions and she had her first day today.  Her name is Trinity and she’s a labrador+golden mix.  I met her this morning on my way to the cafeteria and we got to hang out for a bit in the hall.  As I walked away to buy my coffee, I nearly lost it.  Tears began to well up in my eyes and I had to take a moment to regroup.  I guess I still miss Koa.  I guess this therapy dog will be good for not only the patients but for the staff too.