Well, it's been three months now. I'm over the shock of it, but I think that the "why?" question may never be answered.
I'm finding that the housework and chores are much less bad than I expected, when done to my level of perfection (fairly low), and the dog is easily managed except on long trips when he has to be kept in a kennel. I'm gradually training him to stay loose at home without doing damage, so far so good as long as I don't leave anything edible around. Even so, he's only good for about 6 hours.
I have been doing more music and dancing, which is good, and I'm looking up old friends that I lost track of over the past 4 years. This afternoon is a music-potluck that is an annual event, and the weather is ok, so I am off to play.
MD