Winter resumes

 

The chill factor is back.  Mother Nature has remembered to check the calendar and delivered up a January style day!

Ember is a happy pup, having enjoyed three days in day care in a row.  Her hu-mom is mostly exhausted from peopling, but the peopling was both fun and productive.

The dentist found two things that need to be repaired, so an appointment has been made for that follow up.  

The eye doctor pronounced my glaucoma as "stable" and we settled that I don't need to go see him on a regular basis anymore. The regular eye doctor can monitor anything that might need specialist attention.  If that happens, he can refer me at that point. Yay!  Only one eye doctor!

Reminders of who I used to be...  

I was in for a surprise at the financial guys' breakfast meeting on Thursday.  On the walk from the car park into the building, I was randomly asked by another client whether I had ordered this cold snap!  I said I probably used up my budget for nice weather, so yes, of course I'm responsible!

It turned out that this couple and I sat next to each other at breakfast, and over the course of the usual chit-chat it came to light that she's of my generation, and also trained in engineering school, but she married an ag worker and moved to the Western part of the state where the work she could get was as a teacher... so she spent her working life teaching math.  We swapped stories about our experiences in college as women in engineering fields. We laughed over things like the introduction of calculators and the high-end slide rules of our day.  I left there with warm memories of "who I used to be" back before I became a triathlete or a dog lady.  I had found a new friend with whom I'd be ecstatic to spend more time, if ever we get the chance.  Even if we don't, we recognized one another as kindred spirits.  It's amazing what it feels like for those of us who are retired, to revisit our professional lives with the fuzzy pink of good humor!

Thinking of the month ahead...

Ember and I have a normal weekend and week ahead.  On Saturday the 24th, I'm hosting my son, his wife, their foster kiddo, and my son's cousin for lunch.  I haven't seen the two cousins together since the year her mom passed, back in 2013!  This is a friendship / cousinship I'd like to see grow.  Both of them are "singletons" at this point in their lives, being adults with no living siblings.  That description also fits my daughter in law. 

The last week of January and the first week of February introduce the next "medicalizing week."  Friday the 31st of January, feeding into Tuesday the 3rd of February I have the annual exam stuff: the blood draw, Medicare "wellness" interview, then the annual physical with the "real" doctor. Then dental work identified at Wednesday's visit is slated for the 5th.  I hope that will be the end of all this stuff until July, when we start the cycle all over again.

I'll close out with greetings from The Prisoner, in the sunshine through the window, from Wednesday morning.  Ember wasn't the only one who was happy that she got three day care days this week!

Life is good.  Keep taking good care of yourselves, keep Sparking!

Human stuff intersects with Emberville

When we last posted, it was Tuesday.  No rapture, sorry.  Or if there was one, I was not among the raptured, nor was anyone I encounter on a daily basis.  

Out of the blue, maybe to make up for it, I got an invitation from an old workmate to go see a couple of classic bands from "our youth" in concert under the stars on Saturday night.  Of course, I said yes. 

Got into the planning stages for this and decided it would be good to get a couple of things out of the way before hand, and took the risk on Friday.  Ms. Left Arm, meet this year's flu shot.  Ms. Right Arm, here's this year's Covid19 booster.  All set for Fall and Winter.  Except for the side effects, which were about "as normal".  Sore left arm, restless Friday overnight, things clearing up during the day on Saturday.

Little River Band

So I considered myself all clear for the evening's plans.  Ember got bedded down for her evening nap at close to the normal after supper time, then a couple of "little old ladies" went out for comfort food at the local legendary "Lee's Chicken" on the way to the park for the concert.  We joined an audience of mostly gray-hairs like ourselves. We rocked out with Little River Band (on its 50th Anniversary Tour), and Three Dog Night.

I had not been to a rock concert at this venue before.  It's on the airport flight path for landings.  I'd been to Broadway musical style productions there and planes going overhead would drown out the performers.  That was not a problem with these classic rock bands.  

Three Dog Night

In fact, a couple of planes went directly over on their way to touch down, and it reminded me of the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", as the concert kept on doing its thing, while the lighted planes made like shapes in the sky.

In any case, it was a lovely night.  Ember needed a little extra time out of the crate when I got home, as she had been confined since about 4:30 p.m., and it was nearly 11 by the time I got home.  

Youth juice is what I call the music that was the backdrop of one's young adulthood or coming of age years.  And a few thousand of us drank deeply at the fount.

Sunday was a quiet day for Ember and her hu-mom.  We had a nice morning "pack migration" while it was still cool enough that Mom wanted a cap!  I resisted trying to put on gloves, and the morning then rapidly warmed up for the afternoon.  It became warm and sunny, and felt pretty good, as it wasn't humid.

When Ember went into her crate for puppy nap #1, Mom stretched out on the couch and fell asleep for a couple of hours.  I needed that.  Ember was happy to have me home and close.  She got lots of extra pets and snuggles.  

This week's new toy, Ollie the Mondo Octopus.  

Life's still good. (It will always beat the pants off the alternative?)

I'm still avoiding the news, hug your kids and your pets!

And Spark on!

Stitches out

 

Coffee with my bestie.  Sunday morning, after our walk.

Monday morning dawned with rain and rumbles.  Ember was a good girl and did her business outside between showers.  We got about a half mile walk in between two showers, and then a second half mile after puppy nap #1.

It's going to be a busy week:

Tuesday was the normal "day care for Ember / housecleaning for mom".  No trainer workout until after the stitches come out.  My decision, based on doctor's advice not to "add weight" to exercises right away.

Tuesday evening was flag football practice for FGC.  DIL or son post relevant videos and photo to the family group.  They played two rounds of "capture the flag" / "last man standing" at the end of practice.  FGC, being taller and having a longer arm span than the others on his team, won both rounds.  Coach was trying to talk to the smaller kids about how they have to work together to get the bigger kids "out".  So far, it hasn't quite clicked for them, but I predict it will before the season is over.

Wednesday was stitches out day.  Ember went on a lovely, well-behaved, loose leash walk with me about 10 minutes after sunrise.  Then when we got home, she was full of herself and in need of zoomies.  I had to put the oatmeal back in the cupboard and the milk pan into the fridge while I tossed "destroy" stuff for her.  An empty milk carton elicited the big zoomies.  Finally, she settled down and I fixed my breakfast.  After I washed the pan, she put herself into her crate for puppy nap #1.

The stitches were removed and replaced with some steri-strips and a big Band-Aid.  One day of this, then says the doc, I should be good.  The photo is from Tuesday night, shower time. 

Wednesday afternoon, the lawn guys came to set down fertilizer and broadleaf weed killer.  I was not aware they were coming, so when they turned on the outside faucet and it screamed, I thought I had turned on the wrong burner under my lunch, and the teakettle was screaming.  The sliding glass door to the deck was partly open because... dog, right?  Fenced yard, right?

But the lawn guy had left the gate open before he started the water running, and while I was shuffling around the kitchen trying to figure out the sound... Ember set out the back door to investigate.  The sound stops, and it dawns on me what it was, so I go look out the front (where that faucet is) and what do I see?  Ember!  On the front steps.  Outside the fence!

Yikes, right?  I open the door, "There you are!"  I called her name, stepping back and holding the door open.  She bounded up the stairs and into the house, expecting her name-call treat.  Ya think she got it?  Darn tootin' she did!  Mommy was so happy and pleased with the speed of her recall!

Thursday The Prisoner had his vet exam.  I was brushing him on Monday morning on the counter across from Ember's crate.  Ember was a good girl and didn't lose her puppy manners over me paying this kind of attention to the kitty.  OK, maybe she barked a couple of times.  The kitty was for the most part OK with the attention... he likes getting the undercoat brushed out and the burrs removed.  The two of them are pretty polite to one another, even though The Prisoner maintains his right to avoid the pup, and I carefully make sure he has his safe space.  But at this point in their relationship, Ember respects my asking her to wait while I enter the sanctum to feed the cat. 

At Thursday's vet visit, they found one flea in his groomed fur, alive.  Yikes.  Vet asked what preventative I use for him.  Advantage.  She says it is becoming less effective over time, as fleas develop resistance to some of the popular OTC flea treatments.  She switched us to prescription Bravecto, which she said is every 3 months treatment.  I looked it up online, and it says "2-month supply" for one dose!  I shall have to clarify before the end of October.  That also explains the confusion... she had been telling me the dose she put on him was good to the end of October, but three months would take us to Thanksgiving.  I'm betting she was right about October, and wrong about 3 months.

Friday morning Ember had another well-behaved leash walk, earlier than some mornings.  Between 6:30 and 7 a.m. you see all sorts of "the neighborhood waking up" activity, from people taking advantage of the cooler temperatures for their own walks, to dog-walkers getting in a pre-work walk, to folks watering their yard plantings, to the usual commuters backing out of their garages and headed to work. 

That pretty much wraps the week here.  We're supposed to have a slightly cooler weekend, and I look forward to that!

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!   

Healing and rebounding

 

Surprise lily, before the storms.

And after the storms.

We shall see if it stands up again, or just continues to bloom horizontally on the patio surface.

Monday morning Ember and I took a long walk that included:

1) Munching on strawberries in somebody's front yard.  No clue if they dropped the groceries or what, but irresistible to Ember.

2) Picking up a Titlist glove from the street (yes, she once again started dragging me toward this prize).  Observing there was no traffic I let her pick it up, then asked her to give it to me for a "thank you" treat, and she did.  I tucked it into my pocket then after we got she was safely inside at home, I returned it to approximately where she picked it up.

3) Trying to jump up on my next door neighbor as he was trying to leave for work.  He was wearing a tie and an ID badge, huge lures for this pup.  Sigh.  I barely got her away with brute strength and a couple of good treats.

I am worried that she's getting too many treats on her walks, based on such incidents.  On the other hand, she must be feeling better from her skin infection, she's certainly full of energy!  On the third hand, not having had a Carl adventure this past weekend and dealing with the two storms may have fed into a bad case of cabin fever!

Misadventures continued at home.  I turned my back to wipe down the shelf in the fridge after breaking out a new milk jug.  There was about a half measuring cup full of milk on the counter, waiting for me to finish filling it from the new half gallon.  Ms. Counter surfer grabbed the half full measuring cup and raced to her x-pen, spewing milk all over the counter, the kitchen floor, and polishing off whatever was left in the cup in her x-pen.  I cleaned that all up, prepared my breakfast and ate it.  Went on poo patrol in the back yard.

When she went down for puppy nap #1, I went back to urgent care, where they changed my dressing.  Doctor pronounced that it looked good, that I would heal well, and sent me home with instructions to drop in again on Wednesday for another dressing change, and then beyond that we can drop to Band-Aids, most likely.

Oh, and if I were to go workout with the trainer on Tuesday, don't add weights to that arm!  I ended up cancelling the trainer, that way I can commit to specific times for foster grandma duty.

By the time I got home, rain had started and was predicted to go on for two hours or more.  It did, and so did indoor misadventures.  Ember tried to go after the couch cushion that started all this, including the bite on Saturday.  I was smarter about my responses this time, though. I broke out some new toys, and when the rain stopped got her outside for some fetch games.  I fenced off the couch. She has now lost her couch privileges for a while.  When she went down for puppy nap #2, I put the couch back together again.  

The surprise lily is rebounding, day by day.

Tuesday was day care day for Ember.  I signed her up for Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of September.

After I dropped her off at day care, I worked on laundry, vacuumed the x-pen and dust mopped the tile floors.  I headed over to son & DIL's house for my grandma time.  The other set of grandparents stayed and we had a calm afternoon with FGC showing me how his video game worked, showing off his aquarium and we found a snail!  Then two more snail babies.  They must have come in on the plants.  

We ended my portion of the visit with a game of four square (OK 3-square) on the deck with the two grandmas and FGC.  Then I made my exit, picked up Ember and came home.

Wednesday morning, first day of public schools, Ember and I went on a neighborhood walk a few minutes earlier than normal.  We encountered (on the other side of the street) a dad taking "first day of school" photos of his daughters.  For the most part, Ember was good, but she chose to drop and roll on what looked like it might have been a discarded banana peel in the middle of the street.  She does have her ways of elevating her mom's heart rate!  But we got past that, and make it safely home.

After I had my breakfast and Ember went down for her first puppy nap of the day, I took myself back to Urgent Care for a check up and dressing change. 

The doctor pronounced that it was healing well.  I have graduated to a giant Band-Aid protecting the stitches now, four days after the incident.  I'm on my own until the 20th when the stitches will need to be removed.

I have laid in a good supply of yogurt, which of course is a favorite of mine, to replenish the good bacteria. 

My son called me on his way home from work to get "the whole story" of the dog bite.  I laid it all out there, pretty much as I did in the last blog.  So now everybody is up to speed.

Life goes on.  Life is good.  Spark on!

And a visit to Urgent Care ends it

 

Another front comes through.  Before this one hit, Ember and her hu-mom got a walk in, watching the cloud bank approaching.  It held off for a little while longer, as hu-mom prepared and consumed her own breakfast, then Ember put herself into her den, mom gave her a cookie, and we both got a nap as the rumbles went overhead, and the drops fell steadily!

The coolish "Fall preview" appears to be drawing to a close and we'll have a HOT weekend ahead.

Wednesday, we got a second walk in before it got sticky in the afternoon.  We went for a ride in the car to get Dexter (the car) a drink, and a treat for mom and pup.  The puppy napped on Mom's lap giving a warm sense of peace to the house.

Public school starts here tomorrow (August 11th) for some of the kids.  FGC doesn't start until Wednesday.  I will be doing a "grandma visit" to FGC between other things on my schedule, because he'll be hanging out at home while DIL does a work from home day, the last two days before his own school start date.  Other Grandma gets Monday; I get Tuesday for a visit.  It's not really babysitting, because "mom" will be there, but she has work to do, and it gives FGC something to do as well.  I'm thinking let him teach me something, for example, or play a game that he likes.

I did not sleep well Wednesday night.  I planned to nap on Thursday while Ember was in day care, and I did a little, but I also puttered around gathering the trash that goes to the curb Thursday nights.  

Anyway, the challenging weather was not over.  Early Saturday morning (4-5 a.m. hour) we got belted with high winds and rain.  I didn't get up until after 5, and it was still raining in the 8 a.m. hour.  The wind had blown over the patio chairs I have on the deck, blocking the sliding door. It had also blown a trash can down to the street. The chair I had out on the front paver patio got not just blown across the yard but also broken.

As the sun rose, we had "red sky in the morning" (sailors take warning!)  Sirens in the distance accompanied this view to the East.

Center of the city lost power for a while, out here in the suburbs, we had the lights flash but did not lose power even long enough to reset the microwave clock.

Ember was grumpy about the weather but did get out to take care of business during one break.  She was missing her morning walk.  She started getting into mischief while I was fixing my own breakfast.  About 3/4 of the way through my bowl of oatmeal, she started stripping the slip covers off the couch and attaching the "new" couch cushion, and that tripped MY triggers.

I was not able to distract her and made the mistake of trying to intervene and get it away from her.  OUCH!  Managed to get her calmed down, but not before a huge bloodstain was blooming on my left sleeve.  

I got Ember outside and closed the door while I went upstairs to clean the bite and bandage it.  I was amazed at the depth of the wound.  I could see my muscles working under the flap of skin that was torn in a corner shape.  "Fascinating, I get an anatomy lesson right here," floated through my brain, followed by, "this is going to need stitches".  Fast forward to the process of getting Ember calm enough to cooperate in going in the crate.

Aside here:  I don't know how many of you are TikTok followers, but there is one doctor on there whose comic content came to mind.  Dr. Glaucomflecken.  He has a hilarious video about rural medicine and the farmer.  I was that farmer, as before I presented myself at Urgent Care I put the couch back together, and rebuilt the X-Pen around it.  

As I was getting Ember into her crate, my phone had a voice talking at me.  Alicia's voice.  While I was putting the couch back together and getting Ember settled, I had butt-dialed her!  Serendipity, right?  I quickly told her what had happened, and that I was headed for urgent care, so at least one human would know that Ember was alone at home while I sought treatment.

Here's my one handed job of patching it up.  Took the photo while waiting at urgent care.  I didn't bother with photos of the underlying wound, even though it was indeed fascinating.  It was "of medical interest" according to the second doctor who came in just to compare with his stitching job of the morning.  With all the fallen branches and such, Urgent Care was an interesting place Saturday morning.  Guys who got in a hurry with their mini chain saws, shall we say?

The lovely PA who came to treat me started out with "I don't normally suture dog bites, but... in this case..."  8 stitches, in the end.  Prescription for antibiotics.  Instructions for pain management were the normal OTC things.  She numbed the area well before stitching.  That, too, was fascinating to me.  I guess I was mostly just interested in the whole process.

Even though it was a very warm day, I wore long sleeves over the final bandage all day, to avoid having Ember drawn to it!  I took this photo when heading out on my own to try to pick up the prescription for antibiotics (but the pharmacy closed at 5 on Saturday and they texted me at 4:58 that it was ready).  

They did poke me with a tetanus booster, since I could not remember exactly how long ago the last one was.

In the aftermath, I came home, took Ember out for a walk, and we settled in for the day.  Some training "on the fly" related to manners while I'm fixing food.  

We both napped a bit.  Don't you just love that dogs live in the present?  No memory/guilt associated, no grudges... appeasement face that we humans call "she's sorry", but she doesn't wallow in it.

Final outing of the day was to get batteries for the TV remote, so I could put on her puppy calming music for bedtime.  At last call we sat outside on the deck and soaked in the peace before the next round of storms.   

Seeing that the forecast included a storm warning with up to 70 mile an hour gusts, I went back downstairs after tucking Ember in and moved the deck chairs into the garage.  I spent a couple of hours from about 1:30 to 3:30 on the couch watching the weathermen covering the front and the various weather warnings as they swept through.  Saturday night was not as severe as Friday night's storms, but more people lost power.

Got the prescriptions filled Sunday morning.  We get to try Clindamycin, and Cipro, to avoid penicillin family, and we know I'm allergic to.  

I wrapped the dressing in saran wrap and took a shower.  Felt MUCH more human.  I'm on my second dose of Clindamycin now, and will take the third and the first dose of Cipro with supper at 6 p.m.  I put reminders on my phone so I can keep the four times a day and twice a day schedule on track.  It's only for a week!

I have not taken much in the way of pain meds, but I did down one Advil a short while after my first pill, as I had a bit of a headache.  Nothing since.  

Life goes on and is good!  Keep Sparking, friends!

Sprung forward? Already?

Was Ember singing the song of her people in this shot, or just sniffing the snowy air?  There's something about a dog, all stretched out, with her nose pointed moon-ward!  I think there may have been a fire siren involved when I snapped that photo.

I seem to have worn-out a Smart TV!  Screen is blank.  I tried the soft reset, did not work.  Blank screen, but it does get audio.  Looks like I will be down to a single TV for a while.  Probably good for me anyway.  My computer can stream anything those smart TVs do, anyway.

Next chapter of potential training for Ember?  I am in contact with a gentleman I know (through triathlon and personal trainer connections).  This is the one who ended up adopting his friend's hunting dog after he lost his own, and the dog lost her owner... he's a hunting guide/outfitter, in the midst of snow goose season right now.  I contacted him for advice about local trainers for a lab... I would like Ember to be able to more fully exercise her instincts.  I gave him fair warning that I am no hunter, but he said we can meet after he wraps up the snow goose season, and he will show me what I need to do for the next phase of training for Ember.

He says being a hunter is not required to train a hunting dog.  I may end up putting more miles on Dexter in pursuit of this new phase, this fellow is headquartered in Northwestern Missouri.

This does not mean that I'm stopping the games that Susan Garrett's Recallers program teaches.  It means I am looking at something more specialized to Ember's breeding to add to it.

I've started mixing in "step up" to her training games, in anticipation of perch work.  We continue to do reward zone training in the back yard.  Yeah, we still have chewing / destructive issues, but I figure the more of a "job" she has with the field training, the less she'll feel the need to take down the buffalo in the family room (leather couch).

Ember was not a fan of the daylight-saving time change.  She was not hungry for her breakfast on Monday.  She snoozed around the house for an hour before deigning to eat it.  I had booked her for a Monday day care day, to accommodate lunch plans for my sister's birthday!  We have dropped the routine Wednesday walks, so getting a sister catch up beyond the on-line check in is a good thing.

It was a wonderful, leisurely sister catch-up.  And it was a wonderfully warm day, a preview of Summer to come, breaking the record for high temperature reading for March 10th in our town.

Tuesday was day care again for Ember, and Mommy medicalizing.  The bone density scan and the mammogram were on tap for afternoon.  The trainer was in the morning.  While sitting in the waiting room in bathrobes, I thought a face on another woman looked familiar and that I should know her.  Turned out I didn't but while figuring that out, another woman (younger) heard my maiden name and asked where I had lived growing up.  I named the street, and she identified herself as one of the little girls who had lived next door to my parents!  

Oh, my goodness!  She would remember my younger sisters more than me, as by the time these little girls lived there, I had already moved out to an apartment.  She did remember my brother.  Small world!  The chance to visit was very short as the mammographer came to get me, so I didn't get to ask her for her first name... she was obviously younger, but those girls were tiny back when my mom was fretting over them and their welfare as their parents split up.  

Anyway, that concludes the medicalizing for the year, I'm hoping.  Thinking so much of the old-ers among us, with aging partners in life who are facing health challenges.  Prayers for all battling the various forms of cancer, diabetes, and dementia... getting old is not for sissies, for sure, but I don't know if it's worse having the diseases of aging or worse caring about someone who is fighting one.

Praying, too, for our nation, and its leadership.  We certainly are living through one of those "interesting times" the old curse talks about.

It almost looks like a glow-stick in this light, but Ember is gnawing on a Yak cheese chew in the morning lamplight in this shot.  

Interesting times or no, health challenges or no, LIFE is still good!  Keep the Spark and the Sparkle alive!

Day 12 - Today I am thankful...

 

My name is The Prisoner, and Mom asked me to substitute for her Day 12 gratitude post.  She was a little busy this morning.

She did manage to tell the book of Faces that she's thankful for those who driver her to and from her medical appointments.  Today was her cataract surgery on the second (left) eye.  My Aunt Dottie was her driver this morning.

I, The Prisoner, am thankful for a couple of dog-free days, and the chance to cuddle and purr with my Aunt Dottie, too.  I guess I hope that Ember is having fun at the Doggie Hotel she's staying at.

Meanwhile, Mom is kinda blind at the moment with a patch over her eye.  The uncovered eye is the "slightly far-sighted" side, so she's having trouble reading the phone screen!  She says the computer screen is a little better, though, so... there's that.  Tomorrow morning she'll get the eye patch off, and she'll have a different driver, in Carl's mommy.  Thankfully, Carl will not be coming along!

Life is purr-fect!  Spark on!

Monday Monday return to normal

Or "what is normal?"

Normal here is a one dog household.  An alert dog, watching what the cat is up to, around breakfast time.

Monday morning, I decided to take a time trial drive out to the new DMV building.  I had scheduled an appointment online for Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.  I wanted to scope out how much construction was between here and there.  

I was right to be suspicious.  There were a couple of streets that are a main part of the path from point A to point B that indeed had lane closures.  I navigated them easily enough.  

When I got to the lovely new facility, I decided to ask whether it was possible to go ahead and test today, so I would not have to drive across town again the next day.

They converted me from a Tuesday appointment, to a walk-in Monday appointment.  I had to wait until my number was called maybe half an hour.  

A good time to people-watch, being at the DMV.  You can see the young people who are coming in for their first test.  You can see the people who are moving in from other states having their test in this state.  For me, nothing had changed.  I was prepared to take the written test and even the driving test, if they asked, but they did not.  Just the eye test.  One less thing on my to-do list.  And I am glad I don't have to make the trip again.

I came home, changed laundry loads, and let Ember out of her crate at close to her usual "end of puppy nap #1" time.  She did not seem to be much interested in her harness, so we did not do a leash walk.  She did not seem to be much interested in chasing balls in the back yard, either.  Methinks we are still a bit worn out from all that playtime with Carl over the weekend.

I cooked us some cauliflower for lunch, and she shared a few florets.  Then as she was looking tired and it was about the normal time for puppy nap #2, I put her to bed.  Restarted the dryer, hunted down the headset, and started marking more items on my to-do list "complete."

I made my pre-surgical appointments at the doctor's office:  blood draw and exam.  I also scheduled the Thrasher guys to come look at Ember's excavation around that post that I've mentioned in a prior blog.  Now it's a waiting game.

Onward!  Life is good.  Spark on!

I did say I have a digger on my hands

 

Ember's latest efforts, from Thursday morning.  She had started on this hole Tuesday or Wednesday, maybe even before that.  But as of Thursday morning, she had it deep enough that I'm thinking of calling the foundation people that put in those posts (that hold the balcony and playhouse above level).  They could come out and check it, perhaps tamp it down somewhat?

I filled some of the loose dirt Ember had dug up back into the hole, but I'm sure she'll just take it right back out again, and it's certainly not a strong support for anything, being "loose dirt and sand".

The cooler weather has gifted me a very alert puppy.  Her eyes were shining as we played ball chase in the back yard.  She now gets all excited over my saying "hike", "hike" when I'm about to toss the football for her.

This is a Holee Roller kind of football, easy for her to grip, and of the balls to toss it's among her top 2 favorites.  The one it competes with is the round one that I braided the shoelace "handle" into.

My human brain got taxed Friday afternoon as I got a call from Tech Support about the issue I had reported with the driver updater extension I had accepted from Norton.  My old laptop essentially stopped working when I tried to let this thing run.

Between language barriers and the state of the machine, the issue was not resolved, and I was left with instructions I have been unable to complete.  I told them not to call back until Monday.

The appointment with the eye surgeon resulted in a "Catch-22" diagnosis.  I can have the surgery or not... my choice.  In other words, I can still read through the left eye's cataract.  But knowing how rapidly the right side deteriorated once it got to this point, I went ahead and scheduled the surgery for late October.  Meanwhile, I need to get my driver's license renewed, so I made the appointment to do that before the surgery, in fact, next Tuesday.

The part for the dishwasher arrived, and the technician from the appliance repair place is due to arrive between noon and 2 p.m. today (Friday).

I'm expecting Carl after suppertime this evening.  Pray for me and my two-dog weekend!

Life is good!  Keep on Sparking!

44 pounds in under 5 months

We are in the business of growing a dog-shaped weed, here!  

She's off at doggie day care on Tuesday, as part of her boarding arrangement for my little trip to the docs and their post-procedure instructions not to drive.  I called and asked the vet's office to weigh Ember so we'd get the right dosage of Simparicatrio for her, and sure enough, she was up into the next weight class.

They assured me she is having fun, and not causing problems for them:  "being pretty good".  Which has me wondering what "pretty good" looks like.  They said she had one good doggie friend to play with in day care, and therefore will be tired out.  Yay!

Wednesday, I pick her up after the daycare pups arrive.  This times out to the 24 hours since procedure, the driving restriction.

Thursday, we have a private training session scheduled, at which my particular goal is to learn ways for this 71-year-old hu-mom to safely play with her precious pup!  I want to be able to play tug and fetch, interactive games, with my dog, such that she's happy, properly exercised, and my skin is intact!  It should also help strengthen our bond as person and dog!

Friday, the electrician will be back at the house to install a motion sensor light and security camera outside the sliding glass door to the deck.  

Dontcha love a medical oopsie?  As long as it gets caught with no damage done!

Once I had a dental hygienist read the wrong x-ray and tell me something I knew not to be true.  Turns out x-rays for me, and for another patient, were stuck together.  

Today's episode had the guy in charge of my anesthesia coming in and beginning to lecture me about my blood pressure.  He started saying things about taking my prescribed blood pressure meds (I don't have any prescribed) and monitoring my BP post procedure, etc., and that I should discuss with my PCP.  I ended up telling him I would check again at home this evening, but I was both confused by the conversation, and at the same time totally unconcerned about it, since I knew my own doctor was not concerned.

WELL!  Not long after that, when he came to administer the propofol, he apologized... he got me mixed up with another patient... I do not have a blood pressure problem.  Whew!  But this is why they check identity all those multiple times, y'know?

Whoever that other patient is... hope they are OK and that they are following appropriate advice!

They gave me propofol, yeah, the drug that did in Michael Jackson!  They are using that in this office.  I poked back at him about that... he quipped that MJ's doctor wasn't doing his job, but he, my guy, would do his!  Monitor as the procedure is ongoing and if any problem were to develop, fix it stat!

In any case, the procedure went smoothly.  I truly did drop off like turning off a light switch, and woke up back in the waiting room with Lacey.  I was wide awake and refreshed.  

They did remove two polyps that they think are benign but are having tested anyway, just because.  The results of pathology will be back in a week or two and will dictate whether I'm free for five years or ten from having to do this again!

Kitty is loving this break from the dog

The Prisoner has been within voice call, and has come inside each time I offered, but later also asked back out.  He's got another 19 hours before the d-o-g comes back.  Most recently I let him in as I headed upstairs.  It was supposed to rain within the next couple of hours, possibly T-storms.

Wednesday morning, Prisoner was getting quite bold.  I fed him both supper last night and breakfast this morning in his old spot on the kitchen/dining room floor.  I can't do that when Ember is in residence, as she will steal his food.  He really is relishing access to the whole house!

Meanwhile, in the front yard

Am I imagining things, or do I see the little baby blades of grass starting to germinate from the "overseeding" process?

Don't just Spark:  Water on, Barb, water on!

I turned off the 7 p.m. watering, as we got rain, honest rain, during the evening hours.  Then I checked the forecast and snuck back down to turn it on for the 4 a.m. watering.

The forecast calls for cooler temperatures and "scattered showers" during Wednesday's daylight hours, so I might have to turn off the noon watering, also.  Save what water we can.

That said, Life is Good!  Spark on!

Clear Liquids Only day at Casa mia

 

One thing Spark taught me was the importance of "dressing your meals up" when you're restricting what you're eating.  Monday's apple/peach juice was dressed in the SWAG glass from the Wineglass half marathon in 2018.  This was the last race that my brother (whom many of you knew as MOBYCARP) and I participated in together.  I plodded through the half marathon distance, while he ran his personal best full marathon that day.  

At 3 p.m. I dropped Ember off at the vet center that also boards and does day care.  

Ember was excited to go, and she was so happy with the "kennel" staff person who greeted her.  This young lady let Ember stand on her hind legs and lick at her face!  Ember had been on best behavior all day long, as though she knew something was up.  I have no new wounds!  Not even the accidental kind from paws.

When I got home, I picked up her toys and treats, and I went out on the deck and announced in English that she'd gone "on vacation" and the house is dog-free for two days.  Then I came back inside to the cool A/C.  Shortly after that, The Prisoner appeared to be let in and fed.

Survived the Prep - Tuesday morning report

Prisoner stayed in all night, but as usual he's not allowed in my bedroom (allergies).  This is just as well for doing the "prep".  They have changed it since the last time I had a colonoscopy (10 years ago).  Now it's what they call a "split dose", do half at 5 p.m., and the rest at 3 a.m.  At least that's how my schedule parsed out, with my procedure scheduled for 8:30 a.m.  The 3 a.m. is "four hours before you leave for your procedure".  

So now, at 6 a.m., the part most of us dread is over, and it's just a matter of my driver showing up on time, and putting myself in the hands of the professionals.

Post procedure

Lacey showed up exactly on time, and the procedure went smoothly.  Out by 9:30 ish.  Since she took the whole day off, my daughter in law also drove me to get my glasses frames adjusted.  Ember had knocked them off kilter, and a day while Ember is elsewhere is a great day for getting errands like this done.  

Lacey had brought me a piece of banana nut bread to have on the trip home, and it was a perfect way to break the fast.  She brought me home, and I gave her the grand tour.  I'm hoping that the ten weeks since Ember arrived and reduction to one cat plus her preventative use of antihistamine will make her reaction to my cat-person home tolerable.

Then she took me to the grocery store, since I'm not supposed to drive today.  Whew!  Finally started to cook my breakfast while Lacey headed home to enjoy the rest of the day.  Breakfast, at almost lunch time, was just right.

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Ember shots are all up to date

Ember:  do I look more grown up?

Weight:  31.26 pounds.  That means that she has officially doubled in size since she arrived to me at Easter.

Mommy's heart swelled when the vet declared Ember to be the best-behaved lab puppy she had seen in years of practice.  Granted, the me in me figures she just said that to make me feel better.

But she confirmed Endurovet Val's advice about the Kaopectate, and added to it a prescription for Metronidazole, twice a day for five days.

They also reassured me that I am neither over nor under-feeding her.  She's Goldilocks "just right".  Encouragement to carry on!

OK, deep breath, time to get Ember to her safe space so I can go get us some groceries!

More than groceries

I got to the store and sidetracked myself to the pharmacy.  I got a Covid booster in the left, and the RSV vaccine in the right.  God help me, and God help Ember if I have a strong reaction to either.  But what the hey, she had her shots, I had mine.

Then I bought the groceries on the list, came home and unpacked them.  

Just a cognition of the date

43 years ago Thursday, I walked down the aisle and married the man who became the father to my son. Small, short, family only.  Now I've been divorced about as long as we stayed married.  Life moves on.

Overnight report, Thursday to Friday

The human was having some mild side effects to the Covid shot:  sore arm, elevated body temp (99.9F), and chills when it really was not cold in the night.  The puppy is rapidly regaining her energy post shots.

She did, however, spend a few hours in the den overnight, and mom got to sleep in her own bed!  Well enough, but not long enough.  We have to work on manners related to getting ready for big girl walks.  This morning Ember got turned down for a harness walk because the demon puppy in her attacked the harness.  Took an effort on Mommy's part to a) get it away from her, and b) put her "away" for some cool down time.  Mommy is now figuratively and literally licking her wounds.

About that time, the workmen showed up.  It's quite warm and sunny today.  But they keep making progress.  

This is the South side of the house, about 1:45 p.m., where they are building the base for the edging.  There will be a paving stone patio under the bay window, in front, then it will shift to river rock fill as the corner is turned.  All of this, patio and rock bed will be edged with this stone..

I took several photos as this developed, but I won't overload y'all with them.

The men got here while Ember was still in her "chill down" period, so I traipsed upstairs and napped off the last vestiges of my side effects from the shots.

I got up a little before noon.  Yes!  Rest!

The back yard is still mostly dirt, but that reveals strange non-food substances, like plastic or wire in this phase before the sod gets laid down.  We don't have an estimate for just when that will happen.  The important thing, according to Ember, is she has a wide selection of potential poo spots in all that dirt.  The good thing, according to Mommy, is that plops laid down on loose bare dirt is easy to clean up.

Weekend plans

On Saturday morning, there is a VIP kayak event, starting at 11 a.m.  I will leave the puppy in her den for this time, while I scope out the situation and whether it's going to work out to have her come with on future lake adventures.

Then on Sunday morning, Ember will be moving up to the Puppy Plus training class.  

Life is good.  Spark on!

Words Carl knows

New family game one February Saturday morning.  The kids have created a shared list of "words Carl knows", and all of the group are contributing to it.  

Surprising?  Carl knows "Guinness" as well as "Beer"!  Who teaches these to their dog?  Turns out Guinness is the name of one of his doggie friends from the park.  He knows several names of dog friends and he knows my Prisoner's name, too.

I noticed that I use a different set of words with Carl than his "mom" and "dad" do.  Kind of like a little kid knows that when at Grandma's house we habla Español.  Not that it's a foreign language, there are enough English words to build whole different dog-vocabularies specific to whose house he's in.  I use longer / more words than they do.

"Out" versus "Outside".  "In" versus "Inside".

Silence, repetitive nature of life, "am I weaning myself from blogging"?

It's been nearly a month since I posted a blog.  Yes, I'm still breathing, but when I'm being a bit of a hermit, and life just gets repetitive, and all I'm writing about is life, because, gee, you don't want to be controversial or offend someone by talking about politics (which is going to be taking up a lot of space in my brain for some time here)... well, silence tends to ensue.

The medical stuff keeps on trickling on:  had my annual mammogram as rescheduled. I've received the snail mail "it's normal" letter.  I finally got off the dime and scheduled the "every ten years" colonoscopy... has it really been ten years?  Yes, it has.  Sigh.  The verification of the phone number was enough to make it clear:  they still had my land line on record.  The verification of insurance, same-same, I was still working and on work's insurance back then.  The kids will provide transport and monitoring, but the appointment isn't until June.

Of course, the kids' lives are far more active and interesting than mine.  My son started a new job the last week of February, but he hasn't entirely left the old one.  The two of them finished up their foster parenting classes, and have an up-coming home visit the end of March.

I have been sorely tempted by photos/videos of puppies, born the end of January, and hand-raised by a trusted person.  BUT, I know better, so have resisted up to this point.

The Girl Scouts are selling cookies in their little booths, in rotating spots for limited hours.  I am pleased with myself for having resisted this food temptation, as well.

See?  The end of February, beginning of March... it's a time when change is in the air!  The time when you're likely to get your hair styled differently, change your diet or exercise plan, or, in my case, call up the lawn and landscape people and schedule an evaluation / advice appointment.

Friday morning comedy

The repetitive part:  a dusting of snow, and a grocery order pick-up.  

But then, in my rush to watch a taped show (the finale of The Traitors, on Peacock)... I managed to try to balance my oatmeal on a knee, and whoops, slip, slide, spill...  The leg of my jeans, the pet cover AND the slip cover on the couch, and the carpet!  Yikes.  No, I did not photograph the evidence, but I ran for the paper towels, mopped up, stripped the couch and now am on my second load of laundry associated with my home-grown slapstick of the day.

Had Carl been in residence, I would have had less "clean up on aisle ten", because he loves oatmeal and blueberries, and would have slurped it right up, but The Prisoner is not tempted by most human foodstuffs.  But there you have it, a klutz story to lighten up your day!

Hope everyone has a good Spring-forward (why are we still doing this) weekend, and that the warmer weather returns soon!

Life is good.  Spark on!

A week worth of highlights

 Thursday, January 18th

I took a photo looking Southwest from my front door as the sun rose.  It was so pretty!

I gave myself plenty of time, took it slow and easy and got my workout in with the trainer, too.

During the evening rush hour all mobile phones started shrieking at us with SNOW SQUALL WARNING.  I hope nobody jumped the way I did here at home, if they were behind the wheel!

Friday, January 19th

It was minus 2 F when I did my first swatch of double-gloved shoveling.  Got the path to the mailbox and half the front sidewalk before coming back in to thaw.  It was zero when I went out for the second swatch.  Got the other half of the front sidewalk, one shovel wide, and brought in the mail.

At this point, I took off the boots and watched The Traitors, season 2.  This is a Peacock game show, and I remember that I was shoveling snow during Season 1 last year. 

The day was used to do laundry and just laze around, with Prisoner providing calming purrs and lap warmth.   

Saturday January 20th

A cold start, but a sunny day.  I was a lazy bum.  The snow is not terribly deep, and with what I cleared on Friday, I called it "as good as it's going to get".

Sunday January 21st

Much milder, was up to 14℉ by 8:30 a.m. when I headed to the grocery store.  Out of bananas again.  I think of LeanJean6, a.k.a. Lynda, whenever I put bananas in my cart!  

Monday, January 22nd

Saw the doctor.  He handed me my blood test results.  He looked at my blood pressures from at home, listened to my lungs and heart, and essentially pronounced me healthy... go live my life.  

About the weight:  "you know what you need to do".  Indeed, I do.  About the blood pressures, he's not worried about them for me.  I'm one of the few he has in my age range NOT on blood pressure medication.

He says "yes" to get the RSV vaccine.  

I scheduled the mammogram due in February.  I also need to book my next colonoscopy.  Ten years sure does fly by!. Doctor also recommends a booster for pneumonia... anytime in the next 3 years, but wait 6 months after the RSV one.

I put my valentine note to the kids in that second grade classroom into the mail on the way to the doctor's office.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Wednesday - the "heat wave"

 

Predicted to be the warmest day of the week, is Wednesday.  It was 12℉ when I headed out to my "Medicare Wellness Check" and blood draw this morning.  Heat wave, compared to the last four or five days.

I came home after and shortly headed out to the grocery store because I have not gone and was out of bread and bananas, and also down to my last two eggs.

Home again, home again, and looking at how far it is from the snow plough ridge to the mailbox, so after a brief indoor rest, I took my snow shovel to the snow plough ridge around the mailbox!

Phew!  Feeling justified in my efforts!

The Prisoner keeps thinking it looks like it should be warm outside, and parking his fanny by the sliding glass door.  I open it.  Sometimes he just turns up his nose.  A couple of times he ventured out, even getting as far as to the deck rail.  

Pawprints by the door.  That's my finger impinging on the photo, at the top, not the Prisoner's fanny, although that's about where he would plant it.  He's out again.  Now in again.  Now out again... ad nauseum!

Tomorrow (Thursday) our next snowfall chance is in the forecast.  76% chance, it says.  I know we've only had a week and a half of snow, but I'm tired of it, already!  Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!

For those of you who remember that my front storm door had frozen shut last Friday?  I have tested it just about every day, and finally managed to kick it open today!  Yay!

Tomorrow we're back to more seasonal temperatures.  After a high in the negatives, I'll take 17 above!  Not such a fan of 6 and 4 above as highs for Friday and Saturday, but after that... it's saying 27 for Sunday, and ta-dah! 35 for Monday.  That would get us above freezing a day earlier than was predicted last week when we started this cold snap!

Here's hoping all is well in your various lives!  

Spark on!

Life: it goes on, and we live it.

I got up in time to make my "first appointment of the day" at the dentist on Tuesday.  I eagerly asked about her experience at the Boston marathon.  My dentist's husband is a runner.  He not only successfully completed the Boston marathon, but he ran Chicago, too, she tells me.  And at the Chicago marathon, he re-qualified for Boston.  He's raising money for charity in the hopes of running New York, too.  Shades of my brother.  Once they run Boston, the bug is there!

Sense of humor photo:  he got into the spirit of holiday races that had trophies made from toys.  And yes, he would wear the antlers.

Talking about races of course stirred up memories of Kevin, but December in general stirs them up.  Old Christmas movies bring them up.  Other people talking of their loved ones who have passed brings them up.  And even a date can bring them up.  Today, Tuesday the 12th of December, was another of the family birthdays.  In this case, my husband's sister Carol.  She's been gone nearly a dozen years now, but when you start remembering folks who have gone on before... you bask in the memories for a while.

After I got home, I got a text message from my older sister.  She'd heard from her surgeon about the timing of her cataract surgery... she has to be there to check in earlier than originally told.  No problem.  Pre-sunrise taxi, at your service, Sis!

We move on to Wednesday.  I woke at 3 a.m.  Gave up before 4 and got myself up.  I had my only trainer workout of the weed due to the shifted appointments.  

No Wednesday sister walk because of brother in law landing back in the hospital by way of the ER on Tuesday evening.  Sis was kind of busy, but she did stop by after picking Benji up from the doggie day care place, so I was able to give her a hug and hand her a package for her holiday.  I still should wrap and ship the one for our North Dakota sister.

Thursday morning I was up similarly early.  I was observant on the drive, pre-dawn, of how much better my night driving vision is.  It's easy to take it for granted, but since I was taking her for cataract surgery, the mind cast back to what the vision was like before last August.

After Sis checked in, I headed over to the other tower to visit BIL, who was doing what most hospital patients do: fighting off boredom and the various monitors that beep at irritating intervals.  It was a light-hearted and amusing visit.  At one point he said he might just lean back and close his eyes, saying he was a "bad host".  "Not your job to entertain me," sez I, "It's your job to get well."  "Working on it," sez he.

To me, BIL seemed pretty much his normal self.  They are working on figuring out just what's up and fixing it.  The body is a complex system of chemical signals... let's get 'em saying the right things to each other!  Mostly we talked about movies, actors, and stuff like that, as we have some shared interests in that area.  Old TV shows flickered on the ever-present screen.  

After about an hour and a half, my phone rang in my pocket.  Elder sis was ready to be taken home, so I took my leave of BIL, retrieved Dexter from the hospital garage, paused at the entrance to get her on board, and drove to her house.  While there I gave her a package for her holiday that matches the one I'd given Alicia the day before.  She had something to eat and we shared tea and conversation.

At noon-thirty, her friend Jerry brought in Arby's sandwiches, and we handed over "watcher" duties to him.  I came home and nodded off in front of the TV for a while, and am due to head back for the overnight shift.   

So, yeah, that's my week so far. 

Life is good!  Spark on.