THE WORK CONTINUES – Now that we’re settled in to our “new” home…well, it’s been four months anyway…I’ve begun considering the additions and changes I want to make to my surroundings.  I’ve contacted a local company to bid on redoing the patio this spring.  The previous owner started it, but it seems unfinished, and I would like to plant a nice flower garden out there for the summer.  It will be a container garden, as that’s what I prefer.  They’re easier to maintain, and I can rearrange the placement of the containers to suit my mood.

The patio currently is a concrete pad with some added stone tiles that the previous owner put in, but they’re not fixed in place and look kind of sloppy for my taste, especially since when the pups walk on them, they shift and I find myself forever rearranging them so my sense of order in my universe is not thrown asunder.

One of my favorite things is to design things.  I keep a sketchbook handy, though there are many electronic versions of this same medium that I enjoy using.  I can spend many hours lost in arranging and rearranging things to find the “perfect” symmetry.  So, depending on cost, I will be redesigning the back patio this spring and summer.

RECLAIMING THE GARAGE – On the topic of redesign, I received a call from the former owner of my home who has been forced to store all of her belongings in the garage until her new home is completed.  I officially moved into this place in September, but haven’t had any use of the garage since taking ownership.  After months of delay, her new place will be ready, and she’ll be claiming her belongings the weekend of the 23rd of January.

I immediately began designing the workshop I plan on building in one part of it, of course.

I’m hoping that my 2008 Tax Credit check comes through quickly so I can afford to do all of this stuff!

FACEBOOK RULES – I cannot believe how many people I’ve happily reconnected with on Facebook.  I was never very happy on MySpace, as I felt that it was quite a bit “shallower” than other sites, and designed more for young adults and teens and not so much adult-adults.  (and how many times have I used the word “design” in this damn blog post, anyway?)    I’ve already mentioned reconnecting with a favorite neice, but have also connected with “lost” friends, and people I’ve missed terribly over the years.

Some people I’ve mentioned Facebook to have scoffed, calling it a “time waster.”  I guess everyone gets to decide for themselves what is a waste of time and what isn’t.  I find any video game/Wii/Xbox-type thing a total waste of time.  I find stupid people a waste of time (not hatin, just statin). But any opportunity to reconnect with another human is far from a waste of my own time, and payment has been deliciously sweet.

YAZ UPDATE – Yaz sliced her foot open pretty badly recently, severing a number of blood vessels, and which bled like a geyser in Yellowstone.  It took nearly 20 hours to get the bleeding stanched, and only then by allowing Yaz to do it herself.  Apparently there’s something in a dog’s saliva that helps stop bleeding…that is, if you can somehow insure that the dead squirrel they were playing with earlier hasn’t given their mouth cooties.

My carpets were a mess by the time we (I mean she) got the bleeding to stop.  I thought it was going to entail a trip to the veterinary ER, because it was Sunday and my regular vet is closed.  We were able to wait until Monday morning to make that vet visit, and they stitched her up but good.  Of course, they cautioned against letting her be too active.

Yeah, right, I thought.  A one hundred pound puppy, inactive?  As if!

It’s been difficult, especially since she’s really interested in playing all the time, or running, or swimming.  I’ve had to keep her on-leash for most of the time (except at the dog park, which I decided was an okay place to allow her to run free and do as she pleases), but she’s been compliant for the most part.  Changed her bandages today, and the injury looks to be healing well.  We have to keep her bandaged up for another week.  I hope it passes quickly.

MALAI UPDATE – It’s official: Malai has a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in her right back knee and must have surgery to repair it, otherwise she’ll lose the use of that leg and be in great pain all the time.  The surgery will cost $2600 (a far cry from the $5000 per leg that I spent repairing Ozzie’s back legs in the early part of this decade), of which I’ve raised $1200 so far.  She’s scheduled for surgery on February 12th.  I’m not sure where the rest of the money will come from, but I’m checking into the options available.  A friend has stepped up and offered to provide some of the money as a loan, but I’m trying not to impose on friends for the funds.

“HONEY, PLEASE PASS THE KIDNEY STONE?” – Awoke after only having been asleep for an hour on Saturday night in excruciating pain.  I knew immediately what it was, as it has happened before.  Numerous times.  Well, 8 times before, to be exact.

Kidney stone.

I spent four hours on my hands and knees grunting like an animal into a muffling pillow, as that initial pain is unlike any I’ve ever experienced.  Burst appendix?  Doesn’t come close.  West Nile Virus?  Uh-uh.  Child birth?  Since I have no point of reference for that one, I’ll leave it up to the women to decide.  However, I’ve heard that the pain is much more severe than labor pains, and more intense.

After the nausea and vomiting passed, I began hydrating copiously.  That was nine hours ago.  I just had some toast, washed down with water, of course.  Since this is the ninth stone I’ve developed in my lifetime (when the pain is so great, one tends to remember the number of times it’s been inflicted on you), I know there’s not much that can be done about except to hope for its quick passage, and to drink plenty of water to facilitate that passing.

So, while I can still feel it in there (must be a big ‘un!), I’m not in such pain any longer.  Thank goodness.  Thought I’d be exhausted from lack of sleep, but I felt pretty good. Some people (like myself, apparently) have the propensity to form kidney stones more readily than others.  Bless my biology, eh?

SAY CHEESE! – Got the new digital camera I ordered, and have tried using it over the past several days.  However, I’m not yet very good with it. Yet.  Even though it’s considered a “point and shoot” camera — how hard can it be? — my subjects are almost always in motion and by the time the camera gets around to taking the photo, the subject has moved. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  Here are some samples of my first efforts:

Ozzie on the Picnic Table

Annabelle's Forehead

Um, I dunno.

Later tries were more successful as I figured out the lag time between pressing the shutter control and the subject.

Ozzie on Picnic Table II

Mr. Stoic

"Hurry the hell up, willya? I've got an appointment with a nap."

Extreme Napping

Yaz and her Hurt Foot

Yaz At Rest...for a change.

My personal space, view 1

My Personal Space View 2

BFF - Oz and Yaz

Sadie and Neka and their Famous Tug-of-War Stance