Last Day of the Year

‘Tis may have been the season for family, friends, and loads of festivities and fun.  But 'tis also definitely not the best time to get sick, but it happened to me.  I knew it would.  When you work in the medical field, you're always aware of germs no matter where you are.  But when I'd announced just before Christmas at work while I bleached our table in the breakroom that I was doing all I could to avoid them, I think I became the target for all stray germs!  It was bound to happen.  In my lifetime, I have sprayed more than enough of my share of Lysol disinfectant - And I would be a financially wealthy woman if I had invested half of what I have used and spent on disinfecting products.  But again, as we all know, sometimes no matter what you do, getting sick just happens.

~Todd and Mo napping...together?~

Despite how I've felt, I still worked a couple of days and we had a really nice holiday.

~Eva's first Christmas tree~ 

Holidays of course include going out to dinner.

~Clyde's Willow Creek Farm~

~A cozy place to sit~

And I  managed a little bit of baking.

~Cinnamon Rolls, a holiday tradition and favorite~

Last evening my brother left to go home.  All is calm as we end the holiday.  We are all worn out from the late nights.  And aside from a really ugly cough, I'm feeling much better.

And we look forward to the next year.

Stick a Fork in Me....I'm Done!

~Foster Kitty, Mo~

Well, I'm not really done done, but as done as I'm going to get for now.  I somehow ran out of holiday cards, and time, and Christmas Eve as we all know is practically here.  And I have yet to get all my packages mailed, but my new goal is to get that done in the coming week.  Maybe.  Usually I am more than ready for it by the time Christmas gets here.  Usually I’ve prepared menus, done some baking, completed all the shopping, and even watched a Christmas movie or two.  Usually.  But not this year.

My lack of preparedness doesn’t change that I have been looking forward to all things Christmas this month. But life has happened and it didn't stop it all from coming.

We are currently doing some tests with Bo, and waiting for the result of yet another one that he had on Thursday.  When he gets the "clear" from both the rescue and the vet, and with their approval, we've decided to adopt Bo. From the moment I was told about Bo and met him I felt like he was supposed to be with us. That feeling doesn't happen all that often, but when it does, you really shouldn't ignore it.  

Taken to the vet this afternoon was the lovely "Eevah" and Max who were both given the "all clear" and are scheduled for their surgeries in early January.

~Eevah and Max worn out from the vet visit~

The day ended sitting in a long line of traffic at the airport.  We have company for the holidays.

I am quite sure that my brother is totally okay if Christmas is a little less than Pinterest-perfect. And I know for sure Todd is too.  He's got an early Christmas present to play with. A brand new red ball.

Ready or Not!

Here it is December 17th, and I am so far behind - Faster than Todd, Christmas is coming, ready or not.  And I am really not ready.

I keep having to remind myself  to not stress over how much needs to get done.  But it's hard not to be that way.  This past week has been an unusually busy one, and it's not all because of Christmas.

Our little foster kitty, Lucille had her final surgery this past week to remove the pins in her leg.  Two final weeks of confinement for her. When her staples are removed, she'll be allowed to be a cat again.

Off to the vet on another day with Bo.  He's not been feeling well.  At least I think that he hasn't. He is so hard to read.  But he has no energy and is sleeping through practically everything. Blood tests show nothing to be concerned about, so a few other tests may be on the agenda for him.

Finally there's Jake.  We are at 318 days since he left the shelter.  Today he's struggling to stay standing and walk, and I'm not sure why.  I've added another pain medication in hopes that the soreness that he has in his front leg will ease and he'll be fine.  If not, a vet trip will be on the agenda for him too.

I did get the approval this week from the rescue for Max's second knee surgery.  I'll schedule that on Monday with the date of after the holidays in mind. The lovely Eevah is scheduled for her spay surgery at the start of the year, so she and Max can recover together.  I did hear from Retired Lady this past week asking how she was doing.  Retired Lady has heard nothing whatsoever from the kennel where she got her, and she has not followed through with the complaints that she was going to file against them.  I still feel the need to be cautious.

But I'm also feeling a bit of a relief that maybe "E's" past is behind her, as we look ahead to Christmas.

Lights Out!

It was about 2:30 in the morning, and Sunny woke me up shaking his head and the sound of his collar tags clinking together.  He came and sat next to the bed for a few minutes, and I gave him a few pats, rubbed his ears and drifted back to sleep.  I was awake a little later from the same thing. Poor Sunny.  Ear problems seem to be a bit of a problem at our house right now, and as I listened to Sunny continue to shake his head, I hoped he'd stop and I wouldn't have to get out of a warm bed.

~Sunny in October~

Sunny somehow knew I was awake and came back to the side of the bed and I gave him a few more pats, whispered to him that I loved him and then told him to lay down and go back to bed.  He left my side, but didn't go to bed, instead he continued to shake his head.  It didn't matter that it was (now) 3-something in the morning, I knew I needed to do something, or we both wouldn't get any sleep.  And I knew I should clean and medicate the ear that was bothering him. So, I got up.

In our house, no matter what time of the day or night, when I get up, I am followed by the "Pup-A-Razzi" who on this night was Todd, Charlie, Max, the lovely "Eevah" and I let them all outside.  It took a few minutes to find the bottle of ear cleaner, the medication, get the dogs back inside (no treats) and get the gauze I'd just gotten from work out of my car.

Finally it was back to the bedroom to clean Sunny's ears.  And there he was, fast asleep. I had to grin at that, and I did think about waking him up.  Instead I just turned the light out and went back to bed.  He'd wake me up again if he needed me, but he didn't.    

~A relaxed Sunny in October~

Why Spoil the Fun?

An early start to our Saturday as Todd sat without a worry.

I was a little worried as Carl reached out to change the light bulb on our barn.

That job safely done I was off to drop Todd and Charlie off at the groomers for their winter haircuts.  Afterwards I'd planned a day of Christmas shopping.

About an hour later after barely arriving at my first stop, my phone rang.  It was the groomer who I'd not seen when I dropped the boys off.  In her thick Romanian accent she explained that her husband had recently had surgery and had been released a bit too soon from the hospital - She wanted to close the shop for the day, so could I come and pick up Todd and Charlie right away?

Of course I said I'd come and I was met by a very grateful and apologetic groomer, a seemingly confused Charlie and an ecstatic Todd,  His enthusiasm continued and I've a feeling Todd thought he'd hit the jackpot because he got out of being groomed, and a new rope-toy.

Why spoil his fun and tell him that he's going back next Saturday?