Sick puppy

I took my little dog to the vet today. I noticed on our morning walk that he was limping, and then when we were home, he would hold up his left front paw like it hurt. He did not want me to take a look at it.

So I dropped him off on the way to work, and later the vet called. The pup had a sore on his foot but no broken bones. They ran some bloodwork and his pancreatitis was borderline -- which is typical for him -- and he seemed to have mild hepatitis. So they gave him a shot of cortisone for his foot and a shot of an antibiotic for his hepatitis.

They would have given me antibiotic pills to take home instead of giving him a shot, but I mentioned I have never successfully given him a pill. I have thought I got it down his throat, only to find it, damp with slobber, on the floor somewhere. After several attempts, the pill starts to disintegrate, and, well, it's all very unpleasant for him and me.

Poor sweet baby

All this cost a little chunk of change, of course, but he's worth it to me.

When he held up his little paw, it reminded me of the closing credits of the "Lassie" show, many years ago when I was young.



When I looked up that video, I was sure the tune playing was "Greensleeves," but I was wrong. I wonder if I'm correct in recalling that "Lassie" was on on Sunday nights, and that I might have been in my pajamas when I watched it. I was so young that Sunday night was not overshadowed by the looming sense of impending Monday morning.

Purple petunias

There they are.

Begonias

White.

Red.

And yellow.

Finally back

I guess it's been two weeks of blog silence. I've been busy with family matters. Things are starting to get back to normal now. It's Sunday night before a new work week, so I need to go to bed on time.

While I was otherwise engaged, my calla lily finally bloomed.

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. De Mille.

Making friends

The day before yesterday I met a 3-year-old great-niece for the first time. At first she was quite shy, but she has been warming up to me. It is a mark of her regard that she has twice honored me with an invitation to accompany her when she goes potty. She chatted away to me, observing that she was peeing in the toilet instead of her pants, while I highly commended the discretion and maturity of that choice. This afternoon, as I walked into the bathroom myself, I felt a tap at the small of my back and turned around. "Hey!" she said to me, "What are you doing?" "I'm going potty," I replied, "but I want to go by myself." "Okay," she said cheerfully and proceeded on her way down the hall.

Earlier in the day, she blew her nose in a tissue. "I blow my nose," she told me. "You're a big girl," I affirmed. "See?" she said, opening the tissue and showing me the contents. "Mm. Yes. We just fold that up and throw it away, okay?" "Okay."

She's open to suggestions. It's a sign of intelligence.

The sweat of my brow

I just worked up a sweat watering my plants. The air temperature outside is reputed to be about 75 degrees Fahrenheit (according to a weather website in Abbotsford, BC, just a few miles away), but on the sunny side of my deck, the sun is full on, and the heat bounces off the south wall of the house, plus we're down in a sheltered area that doesn't get much wind. And the air isn't moving today.

And I was wearing too-warm clothes. That's because those were the clothes I wanted to change out of. I am incapable of watering my plants with the hose without also getting myself rather dampish, so I did not want to wear the clothes I'm going to wear all day. So I had on corduroy pants and a long-sleeved corduroy shirt. Sure enough, the first thing I did after turning on the water was spray my own foot with a big gush of water. Not intentionally, but just because that's the kind of person I am. And the hems of my pant legs got wet.

While I was standing over the plants with the hose, visible and profuse drops of sweat ran from my hair and face.

Why, you may ask, did I not wait until a cooler time of day to water? Good question. I'm glad you asked that. It is because some of my flower-loving aunts will be visiting my parents in an hour or two. They will certainly at least glance out the window at my plants, and one or more may even be interested in a tour of my little floral kingdom. I did not want to say, And here are my croaking, gasping, collapsing, sorry-looking flowers and herbs. Some of my plants tell me when they are thirsty by keeling over, and that's how they were.

Of course you might also ask, why did you not get busy earlier in the morning and get then? To which I reply, Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Get up early, and immediately start bustling around industriously? That just doesn't happen.

I gotta be me.

In the air tonight

I'm having a sneeze-fest. I don't know what set me off, but I can't stop sneezing for an hour or two now. I thought to myself that something in the air tonight is triggering my allergies. That made me think of the Phil Collins song from the 80s and the visuals of the show Miami Vice associated with it.

Whatever these guys feel in the air tonight, it's not pollen, dust, mold, or any other allergen. They're way too cool to sit around sneezing and blowing their noses.



Meanwhile, I should just go to bed. I've taken two antihistamines to no effect. When it's this bad, the only thing that will shut down my allergies is if I fall asleep.

Where does the time go?

Boy, you come home from work, feed the dog, take him for a walk, sit at the table and eat some food, sit on the couch and hold the dog, read a little bit, and suddenly the evening's gone.

Somewhere in elementary school I remember a teacher reading us this (rediscovered via google): Lost — Yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever. I remember not having any idea what on earth she was talking about. I must have been too young for an extended metaphor.

Most days on my way to where I work in downtown Bellingham, I drive past Whatcom Middle School, which over its main door has inscribed "Waste Not Thy Hour." A few years ago, that building was gutted by fire. My then boss's son was a student there. The students had to be split up among other middle schools while the building was rebuilt. Here's a nice video about the rebuilding:



My boss's son must have been in 7th or 8th grade when the fire happened, because I think he was in high school by the time it was rebuilt, so he didn't get to go back to the same place.

Sick day

I was quite vilely ill this morning, so called in sick to work. As I felt better in the afternoon, I treated my illness with garden therapy. I went outside and sat on my deck, felt the refreshing air, and just looked at the beautiful flowers.

I felt like there was some pruning I should do, but because it was a sick day I was exempt from labor, so I just sat and relaxed.

Naturally, I had the company of my faithful companion.

Aren't these "black velvet" petunias gorgeous?

Here's a close-up of the blooms, that I took last week.

I do feel better, and I'm certain the flowers helped.

Summertime and the living is easy

I had the afternoon off. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny summer day. Naturally, I stayed indoors and fell asleep on the couch. I needed the sleep, though. The bags under my eyes were fully packed this morning, so it was good to catch up on some rest.

Now it's just about the hottest time of day. In summertime, if it does get hot here in Lynden, it peaks in the late afternoon, around 5:00 p.m. So I'm still in the cooler indoors, in the dim lighting. I don't wear shorts in public anymore but for home use I have a very dorky, unattractive pair, and I'm wearing them now.

I'm thinking about a gin and tonic.

Ethereal beauty

Coming home from my sister-in-law's house around 9:00 this evening, I was driving east and the huge, yellow moon rose behind Mount Baker. Baker and the mountain range were pale gray against the sky while the moon was luminous. It almost was too beautiful to be real.

I wished I had my camera with me, but I didn't. I took out my cell phone to see if I could take even a poor-quality picture, but the battery was too low.

I watched the moon and the mountain as long as I could on my drive.