Hail, we got some rain, at least!

 

The teeny-tiniest hail stones.  If it were colder out, I'd call it sleet!  Taken Friday evening the 6th of March.

Ember proved her Labrador retriever heritage in more than one way this past week.  She went out just fine for her last call, same time as I took that photo of the deck floor.  She was good about having her paws wiped off when she came back in.  We've played the "paw check" game ever since she was tiny, so it's no biggie to have this done whenever it's wet or snowy or muddy outside.

During one of her puppy naps, she slept in an odd position in her crate, as many breeds are known to do.

Towel for a blanket, her head up against the door, belly exposed.  She must feel safe!

The rain came through with a front, obviously.  Saturday morning, we woke up to ice in the deck water dish.  

We got another nice leash walk in, taking a slightly different route, as on these "sniff-a-paloosa" walks I let Ember choose.  She does a good job of putting herself into a sit to let other people/dogs pass by on their walks, these days.  The we stocked up on groceries.  

Sunday morning, I woke up at what new time said was 6:22 a.m.  Ember and I did our usual things in the usual order, only the clock said something different than usual.  I love being retired!  We had a near perfect walk with manners.  Stepped off the sidewalk and sat beside a tree while another nervous dog walked by with its owner. She did try to "jump out and invite play" at the last second.  Fortunately, mom had a tight grip on the leash.  The rest of the walk calm, regular check ins with mom, leash in "J" form, loose.  

Sunday afternoon I put a deck chair out so I could sit outside while Ember had her time in the sun.  It did not take long for her to decide that it was her deck chair.  She occupied it in the afternoon, in the evening, and even in the pre-dawn of Monday morning.  I needed to bring out a second chair so that I would also have someplace to sit.

Monday morning, we walked on leash again, making it four days in a row.  I again let her choose direction, and she chose to walk on a different side of the street.  Over the course of those four days, we covered both sides of most of our route.  

Meanwhile, across town, "the kids" have had their deck replaced.  It looks gorgeous.  Their weekend DIY was sprucing up the space under the deck.  Their foster son helped make a bed of pea gravel level. He took great pride in his work.  I love how this kid has blossomed under their care.  He's only seven, but he was asking my son for recommendations for what tool to use for his task.  Very grown up in so many ways.  He also helps with the household cooking at times.

Ember was very happy to get to the doggy day care Tuesday morning.  Things got exciting as there was a big ol' train trundling on its tracks across the road near the place.  The crossing arms were down, the lights flashing, the bells dinging, and of course it's an hour darker in the morning at our "usual" time, now that the clocks have moved forward.  It did not bother Ember much, as she had her mom on the leash.

Wednesday morning surprise:  big ol' fat white flakes falling.  It melted before the day was done.  I had to drive to Omaha for a Dr. appointment, sogave myself plenty of time.  It was a good thing I did... because Google Maps contained an error!

Have you ever had a GPS take you to a completely different location from what you typed in?  I have witnesses!  I typed in 10707 as the street number.  It took me to 15055.  On a completely different street!

I reacted on Friday by editing Google Maps pin.  My edit is "under review" by their automated systems!  People, AI is invading.

I was 24 minutes late getting to the appointment (compared to the time they told me to arrive) but they ended up taking me in right away.  Follow up test has been ordered.  It's not until the end of April.  In the meanwhile, I get to live with the body the way it is. 

On the way home, another adventure, entirely self-induced.  I stopped to get gasoline for little Dexter's tank.  Would you believe $3.20 a gallon?  Yikes.  I drove on and was focused on the route.  

I drove by the old Linoma Beach Lighthouse (internal muse:  who puts a lighthouse on the Platte River?)  I have childhood memories of going to a neighbor's "cabin" on that beach, just the once, but it's a landmark.  Once the Interstate went in, Linoma became a ghost of a memory for most of us, but I drove by it on the old highway Wednesday.  Then I turned where some of the Wear Yellow bike rides went, and meandered down memories of cycling on those roads.  

Got onto the Interstate and was well on my way to my normal exit when I noticed in my side rearview mirror that... my gas cap was bouncing along outside the car, on its plastic tether!  Talk about early signs of forgetfulness.  Not to mention neglecting to recognize/notice it up to that point.  I remembered putting the pump nozzle back, but then I had not returned to put the gas cap back on, and amazingly, it bounced all the way to my exit and a safe place to stop and correct that!

In any case, Wednesday completely wiped me out.  Slept well Wednesday night into Thursday.  Thursday morning felt every day of my age.  Took my sweet time and Ember got to day care later than usual.  

Thursday was another medicalizing day, but at least it's only five minutes down the road, not the drive to Omaha thing!  This one was the annual boob squishing.  In and out, done.  No urgency.  "No news is good news", a letter confirming good news will follow.  If there's bad news, it would be a phone call.  

Thursday after I picked up Ember, I got an extra special treat:  FGC was going to swim lessons and while all that was going on, my son called to check up on how my medicalizing had gone, mainly, but also to discuss the state of the world, his job, etc.  This rambling conversation lasted nearly 3 hours.  

Ember managed to get into the guest room while I was on the phone with my son.  She found one of my "Two Blind Brothers" stuffed guide dogs and I let her take it down to her x-pen and nurse on it.  She was fairly gentle with it and after a while, she put herself into her crate for her pre-last-call puppy nap.  I tucked her in and was able to go upstairs and let my son vent and vent back.  His conversation starting question:  "Do you remember how you felt when Afghanistan first started?"  I responded, "Which time?  Afghanistan has been at war in some form since before I was born!"  And of course, I leave it to your imagination the rabbit holes and briar patches this conversation went down.  In the end, we exchanged "love you" expressions and I brushed my teeth and went down to let Ember out for her "last call".

Friday the 13th's morning showed up in an obstacle course on the roads.  A car was being jumped, right in the left turn lane of the entry way to the shopping area where my regular grocery store is.  Then on the way back, a huge truck was blocking the right lane.  Ember was treated to a different route both coming and going to avoid the obstacles.

And there we have it.  Another week living in Emberville.  Life is Good.  Keep on Sparking, my friends.