Hot Diggity Dog

  This so frustrating, the stupid pop-ups for ads cover a third of my screen. My son is in Hawaii on a well-deserved vacation with his family, so I won't call him. Instead, I will worry about the next storm that is said to be headed that way. The rain continues to beat down here, but at night while we sleep. As a result, the morning weather is spectacular. I am picking green beans daily and we have grown tired of eating them. I discovered an acorn squash hiding under the bean vines that cover the fence. Then I found a butternut squash on the other side of the garden. Still getting yellow squash and cucumbers, too. Two days ago, Kevin the cat started vomiting. I woke to a mess. I stepped in it and it squished up between my toes. While trying to not slip down, I splashed it in my face! So, there I was in the front yard, hose in hand cleaning up the mess while poor Kevin looked on. My hair was sticking up in odd places, and I have no idea what I was wearing when a car pulled up with a...

  The Patient's bone has mended! After all the weeks of the grimace on his face and the moaning and groaning, he tells the doctor the pain is minimal. To my credit, I did not contradict him in front of the doctor ..... but I wanted to! Now we wait for the rehab schedule that will keep us home for the near future. Today I rode with The Patient to get a new mower. You might be wondering if he sought out someone who may be able to repair the old one. I mean, that would seem to be the reasonable thing to do, but what do I know? We currently have TWO power washers and I am not sure how many other items he has stowed away that are duplicates. If anything goes wrong, The Patient sees it as an opportunity for a shopping trip. I let it be known that I was unhappy and plan to use this as leverage when I want something .... stay tuned. The Patient has resumed his morning breakfast trips, giving me respite from his neediness of my service. I manage to get quite a lot done while he is eating bi...

I am the feeder of the family, always have been. The Patient agrees that I am the one who has always provided sustenance for the most part. For the past 6 weeks I have had no help with this chore. I don't expect The Patient to help; he has only one hand with the sling on. Strange thing was that I managed to fulfill animal feedings with only one hand available. Just an aside proving that woman are better nurturers for the most part. My schedule has been formed by the animals here. The dogs get fed first thing in the morning. There was a time when I could push that feeding for an hour or so. Our old girl Toni Louise sets the pace in our mornings. She will tap dance across the floor and bark until I drag myself out of the bed. She eats canned food, a very soft and mushy concoction that makes me a little queasy when the aroma hits my nose. I try to get all the food ready while they are in their yard doing their business and chasing the kittens who have figured out how to breach the fen...

  Unable to sleep. Despite the magnesium I dutifully swallowed and all the other rituals observed I still can't seem to fall asleep. I was on the brink when Charming Eddie decided to roll off his pillow and lie as close as possible to me. I was on my side, and my arm went around the little guy on its own. I was gently scratching his tummy and tugging at his fur, just the way Mr. BoJangles likes and has trained my left hand to do, when I found a chunk of matted fur. It felt like he had been chewing at it, trying to remove it himself and it was hanging by just a little bit. My fingers went to work, pulling one strand of fur at a time until it was off. I was quite pleased with my efforts, as Eddie is not one to succumb to scissors or the clippers. I was drifting towards dreamland when my fingers discovered another mat. I carefully slipped out of the bed as my mind was trying to remember where the scissors I last used to cut my own hair with were. I didn't want to turn on a light, ...

  Yesterday the rain held off until after dark. The Patient had a little cabin fever, so we went outside. He thought he was going to hike up our driveway to take an up-close look at the mower. I knew he probably wouldn't be able to but went along. He didn't make it as far as I did. I stopped on the way back down to grab a few weeds. Good intentions and all ..... I put my foot on a crumbly board to lean across the ditch and remove all the spent stalks of a daylily. I pulled them all out and then addressed the dead leaves at the bottom. All was right in my world until I took my foot off that board. The yellow jackets have taken up residence under that board and as soon as my foot took the pressure off, they were in attack mode.  I never learn, it would seem. I know full well that late summer is when they are prevalent. They swarmed me and started stinging. Oh, how those little monsters hurt. I ran down the driveway yelling and waving my arms to ward them off. My right shoulder w...

  The past month has been trying. Yesterday we visited our primary care doctor to get the results of The Patient's latest blood draw. I may have mentioned that The Patient is .... difficult. He rarely follows directions or helpful advice. That is not going to change at this stage in his life. Back in earlier days he broke his foot. In fact, that particular year our entire family broke something, with the exception of my youngest. And yes, she felt left out. She was very vocal about it, as well. I broke my foot for the second time; Jill broke her toe and Jeff broke a foot. It was so bad that when I called the orthopod's office his receptionist would simply inquire, "Which one of you this time." The kids and I obeyed doctor's orders and healed our broken bones without incident. The Patient was the last one to see the doctor. I warned our doctor that The Patient would be challenging. He soon found out that was an understatement. I don't remember how many casts we...