We Match!

I never realized that casts were contagious. Little Raven got in the way when the guys were unloading hay into the barn, and got a 50 pound bale dropped on her. We rushed to the vet (on a Sunday, of course!) and the xray didn't show a break, but in puppies, with all the growth plates in the radiogram, it is hard to tell. So, splint and wait for a week; and meanwhile she can no longer sneak up on the cats. Hearing her walk in the kitchen from downstairs sounds like the sound effects from a horror movie, SCRRRape, thud, SCRRRape, thud. Now she has to be carried outside AND inside, and she has gained 10 lbs since she was 8 weeks old, she now weighs 29 pounds, at not-quite-12 weeks old. Needless to say, I'm not the one doing the carrying. My ortho doc says, no signs of healing, come back in two more weeks, and I am discouraged to say the least. The only saving grace is that I don't have to work anymore. But this surely isn't what I had in mind for me OR the puppy when I retired.

Right now there are other sound effects; there are 5 guys on the roof doing a lot of pounding, as they replace the roof. They do not have complimentary things to say about the last roofing effort, but then, have you ever known a workman to say, "Hey, those last guys did a heckofa job, we really can't do anything better"? No of course not. Anyway, after we get a few good rains and verify that the damn dining room ceiling isn't leaking, they will come back and put up new drywall on the ceiling and re-plaster. Hopefully it will match, but even if not, it will be a big improvement over the hole and brown stains:



Sigh. We've been in this house 25+ years, so I guess you have to expect some fairly major upkeep along the way, but it feels like it's a big hole into which we throw money. Worst of all right now, is that with me laid up, the cleaning is not getting done, but I just look the other way and promise to do a real job of spring cleaning on it once I am mobile again. I've never enjoyed the role of nag, and the kids and N have enough to do as it is. My main interest right now is getting OUT! Just a little cabin feverish, you know.

The patient is resting quietly

Can you see the little black nose on the far left? That's the puppy, and the reason Beans looks like she's possessed. They'll work it out.

Having an 11 week old pup who can't go down stairs without being carried, a split level house, and a broken ankle is not combination I'd wish on my worst enemy. Plus, I have cabin fever big time, since the only time I've been out of the house since I broke it on the 15th was yesterday, to the ortho dr. I came home with a new, tighter cast, and the news that there is no sign of healing. I bet that I'll go through weeks of gimping around on this, and THEN the dr. will decide to do surgery, thus ensuring I am laid up for twice as long.





Mega rain for this area, flood watches out. And us with a leaky roof! The repair will start in 2 weeks or so; meanwhile it's...........

Need a carpet cleaner

The puppy is a lot of fun, don't get me wrong. But although she seems to feel OK, it is also true that in the poop department, she has no equal. We took her to the vet for anti-diarrheal meds, and then in the end taking her back for the vet to keep for two nights and give her anti-spasmodics, sedative, and so on, to get on top of this thing. She is home now, and seems to be much improved, so we are back to trying the housebreaking game again. I guess it is a foregone conclusion that all the carpets will eventually have to be cleaned. Meanwhile, we make daily use of the SpotBot we got a year or so ago (mainly to clean up cat barf stains). It works great, too great in some cases, leaving a clear light area amid a more dingy background. Isn't pet ownership fun?

In a related topic, I've been taking a bunch of photos, not surprisingly. What was surprising was that among our many many cameras, 35mm, 110 and

I stopped right there to get ready to go out for an appointment.

I started downstairs to get my purse and coat.

I fell on the stairs and broke my ankle.

it is now evening on the 15th and I am in bed with my leg in a cast propped on pillows. I broke this same ankle 10+ years ago, just the tip of my fibula, but after 5 months it hadn't healed, and I had surgery to have two screws inserted to hold the fibula in place. The doc today told me good news, the old break is well healed and the screws look fine; the bad news is there is a spiral fracture of the fibula just above the screws. He sent me to an ortho doc, who said he was fairly sure I wouldn't need surgery for this break, but I'm to come back in a week so he can xray it again. I feel really down, since I am diabetic my bones are slow to heal, and I remember the sheer misery being one-legged caused me in the past. No walking the dog for me, just as she gets to where she frolics instead of gluing herself to my leg. I have to ask for help at every step, can't drive (right ankle) and our house being two stories means I am either up or down, and whatever I want will be on the other floor.

Feeling down doesn't begin to cover it.

Puppy Mom

Above is the photo I took a few minutes ago. There are inherent problems with photographing a solid black dog. They may be clearly defined in the viewfinder, but simply put, they don't reflect as much light as, say, a tan dog. In my film camera, I can use the backlight compensation (+2 for instance), but my simplistic digital camera doesn't. So as I get my film processed, I ask for a CD, and from that I'll uplaod a better pic.

Getting a new puppy is more work than I remember from 20+ years ago. The whining at night, the housebreaking accidents, the necessity to put everything UP above nose height (which will get higher and higher as she grows!), it's all a constant struggle. Garbage cans. Kleenex. Shoes. Candy wrappers. The only saving grace is knowing that, unlike babies, puppies grow up really fast, and in 6 months the worst will be over. I shall endure.

As for the cats, the youngest one has hidden in a back bedroom for the last week, but the others are getting pretty blase about the pup. Mind, they too recognize the value of getting up high. Fortunately, she is unable to use stairs, so they can go up when she's down, and vice versa.

We named her Raven. She's 8 weeks old today, and weighs 18 pounds.