Meet Ella. I picked her up from the humane society today, fell in love and now it looks like I'm fostering her, at least. Maybe more. Who knows!?
Friday, July 31, 2009
Ella
Meet Ella. I picked her up from the humane society today, fell in love and now it looks like I'm fostering her, at least. Maybe more. Who knows!?
Outing to Harry Potter Movie
We didn't have puppy club last night because it has been too hot, so we took Ardella and went to see the Half-Blood Prince. It was interesting since Ardella has not been to the movies since she was just a few months old. She was much too big to sit on our laps and she didn't want to sleep. We had a few toys for her to chew on and that helped some. At one point Ardella noticed a child sitting in the row in front of us - I discovered she knew this when her tail started wagging and her nose was in-between the seats and the child giggled and said "Mommy, there's a dog in here!." I'm afraid Ardella was licking her. I'm glad the child didn't scream! Well, to put it mildly, Ardella was restless. I enjoyed the movie but at one point I was sure that whine was the "I've got to go" whine. Fortunately, we made it out of the theater and made it to a relieving spot before she actually went. I was nervous. I'm not sure I want to try this again. I also think Ardella was reacting to the noise level in the theater. Oh - I liked the movie, but when discussing it on the way home, we concluded that a lot was left out - like Snape's story! I kind of thought that was important information!
I'm still waiting for the vet's call about Ardella's latest urine sample. He and the GDB vet have been playing phone tag. He's hoping to talk to her at lunch and will get back to me today. I'm waiting around the house for the call. I have a horrible headache, so that's not a huge sacrifice.
I got another e-mail about a dog transport for MARS. This is getting sad! There is sure no end to the need of animal rescue.
Fun Day is next Saturday!! I can't wait to meet more of Ardella's littermates!
I'm still waiting for the vet's call about Ardella's latest urine sample. He and the GDB vet have been playing phone tag. He's hoping to talk to her at lunch and will get back to me today. I'm waiting around the house for the call. I have a horrible headache, so that's not a huge sacrifice.
I got another e-mail about a dog transport for MARS. This is getting sad! There is sure no end to the need of animal rescue.
Fun Day is next Saturday!! I can't wait to meet more of Ardella's littermates!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Book club
I forgot to mention that the first book group discussion with my knitting group took place on Monday evening. We read Saturday by Ian McEwan. The book was chosen by Marcy, but she wasn't able to attend (one of the first over 100 days of the week). We ate curried chicken salad, a broccoli salad that the group loves, Brownies, and drank cold drinks.
The discussion was split in terms of enjoyment of the book. I loved it, Linda liked it, Barb changed her opinion with the discussion, Betsy hadn't read it, and Cissy and Jolene didn't like it at all. I enjoyed the way the book built up tension on this most unusual Saturday in the life of a neurosurgeon and his family, in London, on the day of war protests taking place in the city and an airplane crash observed from a bedroom window. I enjoyed the detail McEwan provided, while the detail drove others crazy. I admit the first half was slow going, but once the family is held hostage, I couldn't be torn away. Some people felt the ending was unethical and contrived.
I hope Marcy has her say one of these Mondays, since it was her book. I have the next book and it's going to be The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. I needed a book I'd read before because of the wedding. We'll probably postpone the discussion until September. I look forward to it because there's a lot to discuss.
The discussion was split in terms of enjoyment of the book. I loved it, Linda liked it, Barb changed her opinion with the discussion, Betsy hadn't read it, and Cissy and Jolene didn't like it at all. I enjoyed the way the book built up tension on this most unusual Saturday in the life of a neurosurgeon and his family, in London, on the day of war protests taking place in the city and an airplane crash observed from a bedroom window. I enjoyed the detail McEwan provided, while the detail drove others crazy. I admit the first half was slow going, but once the family is held hostage, I couldn't be torn away. Some people felt the ending was unethical and contrived.
I hope Marcy has her say one of these Mondays, since it was her book. I have the next book and it's going to be The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. I needed a book I'd read before because of the wedding. We'll probably postpone the discussion until September. I look forward to it because there's a lot to discuss.
109! No way!
That's what the car thermometer said it was outside on the way home from a work meeting today. At any rate, the temperature is over 107 and I know I'll be glad when the heat wave is over! My nephew in Northern Cyprus said it was 108 there right now, so we're competing with the Middle East countries in terms of high temps. Ugh! I really hope it cools off for Fun Day, Sock Summit and Keri's wedding. Ardella is eating ice cubes, and I'm drinking a cold Peach Tea Snapple. I'm going to post and then turn the computer off because it generates heat.
Last weekend was one of those go! go! go! weekends and I have no pictures to show for it. Bonnie's memorial was on Saturday, so Ardella went to a sitter's on Friday. It's a good thing she was able to have a sitter. The memorial was over 3 hours and we had to end it early because of a wedding scheduled at the church where the memorial was held. The memorial was sad, but there was a lot of music and memories and I was glad I attended. One of the highlights of the memorial was when some of Bonnie's nephews and nieces got up and read portions of the FBI report filled out on her around 1978 or so. Interesting tidbits were that Bonnie applied for and was rejected from joining the Black Panthers. She wrote them a letter expressing her disappointment. She was labeled a "terrorist" for doing whatever it took to open shelters for abused women and a "true revolutionary." She was proud of this report. It was really funny.
The music was great - some pieces played were Malvina Reynolds' This World and Ewan McCColl's Joy of Living. There was also a rap called The Life She Lived and I would give my eye teeth to find the lyrics - not likely to be found on the internet because it was written by a family member. Visiting at the reception afterward was nice as I ran into people I knew from Friends Meeting that I haven't seen in years. I miss going to Friends Meeting.
We were going to pick up Ardella on Sunday afternoon, but I got a message from a MARS representative asking if we could locate someone to pick up 2 mini Aussies from the Oregon Humane Society to transport to a point halfway between Seattle and Portland. I volunteered us, so Lyn was able to pick up the dogs after Meeting, to have Ardella's sitter agree to keep Ardella the entire day, and to pick me up to drive with him to Chehalis, which was the halfway point. Those poor dogs that we picked up! I'm sure they were puppy mill dogs and they were terrified of anything that walks. They also smelled awful. We met the rep, had a bite to eat, and I was introduced to Molly, a small mini Aussie,that I hope we are going to adopt in the next few months. She's a blue merle and has 1 blue eye and 1 brown eye. She's as cute as she can be and I think she and Aidan would get along well. We'll see.
We picked up Ardella Sunday evening after getting back to town and got a good report from the sitter. She enjoyed Ardella and Ardella had a few challenges when going to a mini farm where she met chickens, llamas, and other farm animals that were quite exciting to her. She also apparently had some accidents while walking, but not in the house.
The rest of the week has been spent trying to avoid heat. I missed a call from the vet about Ardella's latest urine culture. He wanted to talk to me about it before he heard back from Guide Dogs for the Blind so I wouldn't be in the dark. When I called back he told me he would talk to me after he talked to them. I'm a little unsettled, but I hope it's nothing much. If there's something wrong, I hope Ardella will be going to campus to be checked out.
Last weekend was one of those go! go! go! weekends and I have no pictures to show for it. Bonnie's memorial was on Saturday, so Ardella went to a sitter's on Friday. It's a good thing she was able to have a sitter. The memorial was over 3 hours and we had to end it early because of a wedding scheduled at the church where the memorial was held. The memorial was sad, but there was a lot of music and memories and I was glad I attended. One of the highlights of the memorial was when some of Bonnie's nephews and nieces got up and read portions of the FBI report filled out on her around 1978 or so. Interesting tidbits were that Bonnie applied for and was rejected from joining the Black Panthers. She wrote them a letter expressing her disappointment. She was labeled a "terrorist" for doing whatever it took to open shelters for abused women and a "true revolutionary." She was proud of this report. It was really funny.
The music was great - some pieces played were Malvina Reynolds' This World and Ewan McCColl's Joy of Living. There was also a rap called The Life She Lived and I would give my eye teeth to find the lyrics - not likely to be found on the internet because it was written by a family member. Visiting at the reception afterward was nice as I ran into people I knew from Friends Meeting that I haven't seen in years. I miss going to Friends Meeting.
We were going to pick up Ardella on Sunday afternoon, but I got a message from a MARS representative asking if we could locate someone to pick up 2 mini Aussies from the Oregon Humane Society to transport to a point halfway between Seattle and Portland. I volunteered us, so Lyn was able to pick up the dogs after Meeting, to have Ardella's sitter agree to keep Ardella the entire day, and to pick me up to drive with him to Chehalis, which was the halfway point. Those poor dogs that we picked up! I'm sure they were puppy mill dogs and they were terrified of anything that walks. They also smelled awful. We met the rep, had a bite to eat, and I was introduced to Molly, a small mini Aussie,that I hope we are going to adopt in the next few months. She's a blue merle and has 1 blue eye and 1 brown eye. She's as cute as she can be and I think she and Aidan would get along well. We'll see.
We picked up Ardella Sunday evening after getting back to town and got a good report from the sitter. She enjoyed Ardella and Ardella had a few challenges when going to a mini farm where she met chickens, llamas, and other farm animals that were quite exciting to her. She also apparently had some accidents while walking, but not in the house.
The rest of the week has been spent trying to avoid heat. I missed a call from the vet about Ardella's latest urine culture. He wanted to talk to me about it before he heard back from Guide Dogs for the Blind so I wouldn't be in the dark. When I called back he told me he would talk to me after he talked to them. I'm a little unsettled, but I hope it's nothing much. If there's something wrong, I hope Ardella will be going to campus to be checked out.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
My week alone with Ardella
It's been over a week since I posted and I can't remember much of last week. Lyn went to Yearly Meeting in Montana and I stayed home with Ardella and Aidan and the cats. Meeting pet needs, working with Ardella, feeding self and taking the occasional Ardella break took up most of the week, but there were a few highlights.
Ardella and I did go to Awards night on Thursday evening and Lyn and I received a plaque and certificate for raising Ardella.
It was a hectic evening because I had my hands full and Ardella became very excited by being outside in a yard with many dogs and being in a yard with lots of bark dust. It was a warm and pleasant evening and it was nice to visit with other raisers and eat ice cream bars and other desserts.
Now while relieving issues are resolving, distraction issues are blossoming. I'm also trying to wean Ardella from using the head collar all the time, which is a challenge because she thinks it's so funny to grab the leash while walking to take me for a walk. I thought I had this resolved by Sunday, only to come inside and have Ardella spit out a plum she had picked up on the walk. She'd been carrying it in her mouth for who knows how long and couldn't hold it and the leash. It is getting better with multiple corrections and That's enough! said firmly and in a louder voice than I usually use.
Letting Ardella loose in the yard has become a bit difficult because of these in the back yard:
and these in the front:
Ardella grabbed the blueberries once and has known what they are ever since. She also discovered the raspberries another day and now every day wants to go to the back yard and tries to lead me to a berry bush. It's been a great year for berries. I hate to see them go, but I'll be relieved when I can let Ardella play in the yard off leash again.
A high point of the last 2 weeks is that I have gotten in contact with 2 old friends - an old high school friend from Kingsport, Tennessee on Facebook and a friend that Lyn and I lived with when Keri was born (who also was our childbirth educator) came to visit me. That was really nice. We sat outside and talked while soaking our feet in the Ashiyu and came inside to drink ice tea/hot coffee and talk once Ardella started eating all the pine cone things on the ground.
The new facility for Southwest Washington Humane Society opened to the public on Sunday and I visited. It's beautiful and I've signed up to volunteer walking dogs and socializing cats and dogs. I'm not far away and I've wanted to volunteer there for a long time.
I'll be preparing the next two weeks for Ardella's evaluation. I'm very nervous about it. We have a new CFR and I don't know what to expect from her. We have a lot to work on and I want to be assured that I'll be bringing Ardella home from the evaluation. I hope this is a silly fear.
I have to finish up Saturday - the book for the newish book/knitting group I belong to, and nurse the cold Lyn brought back home with him from Montana. It's been hot and things have been drying up right and left. There are a few spots of intense color around the yard though and I tried to capture some of that color today. I'll leave you with some flower photos:
(I love butterfly bushes, even if they are considered an invasive species)
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Adopt-A-Thon Weekend
Ardella went to work with Lyn on the bus yesterday and Keri and I went shopping for wedding things. Keri got hair clips and miscellaneous items; I got shoes.
Ardella did not want to get on the bus and was a little nervous about the ride. She did fine at work, but she apparently does not like mass transportation.
This morning, Lyn, Ardella, and I got up early and drove to Kent, Washington, for an Adopt-A-Thon held at the King County Animal Shelter. This is a trip straight up I-5 and has to be one of the most boring drives around here. However, we always look for the ever changing John Birch Society billboard which has messages for each direction traveled on I-5. Today's north direction message was a conspiracy theory message stating simply, "Where's the birth certificate." Southbound, we got "I'll keep God, Gold, and guns, you can keep the change." Oh, silly people! Then there are the Gospodor monuments, which are just weird. There was a new monument with weather vanes. Standing there with Jesus, Chief Joseph, Mother Theresa and Holocaust victims, I just don't know what this one was about! Some day I'll take a picture of these things - it's just not convenient since they are right on the interstate.
We got to Kent around 10, got into the Adopt-a-Thon with little trouble, thanks to Ardella's green coat, and found our way to the MARS group where we greeted everyone and got acquainted with what I would be doing. Ardella drew some people, including a gentleman from the GDB Seattle group who is acquainted with the raisers who are raising Ardella's brother, Amos. I'm hoping to hear from them so we can invite them to the Bruna A Litter group Anna started on Yahoo.
Lyn and Ardella left me in Kent and went elsewhere for a few hours. I sold things, caught up with Leslie on how Charlie is doing, talked to other volunteers in the booth who had adopted from MARS, and bought stuff! Here's my collection from the day.
I'm especially fond of the T-shirts and magnet stickers. I left at 1, so don't know how profitable sales were today. It was very hot and I believe there were other events going on today in the area that competed with people's time. I think we had the best booth and there was a steady trickle of people during the hours I was there, but by the time I left the event was pretty empty. I enjoyed myself and I'm glad I went. I would certainly volunteer to do this again.
Ardella panted hard during the trip up and seemed stressed out. It was hot, but we have air conditioning, plus, she was fine when she was out of the car. She was still panting on the way home, and she sat with her head in my lap almost the whole way. By the time we got home she perked up and didn't have a crash and burn period like she used to have when acting super stressed. Now I'm thinking she just doesn't like traveling. Here are Aidan and Ardella giving me the eyeball as I ate blueberries picked from the garden - Ardella is looking back to normal in this picture.
Finally, Lyn got his hair cut the other day - he wanted me to document the cut so he could be reminded he would never get it cut this short again. I don't think it's that bad, and it will grow out!
Ardella did not want to get on the bus and was a little nervous about the ride. She did fine at work, but she apparently does not like mass transportation.
This morning, Lyn, Ardella, and I got up early and drove to Kent, Washington, for an Adopt-A-Thon held at the King County Animal Shelter. This is a trip straight up I-5 and has to be one of the most boring drives around here. However, we always look for the ever changing John Birch Society billboard which has messages for each direction traveled on I-5. Today's north direction message was a conspiracy theory message stating simply, "Where's the birth certificate." Southbound, we got "I'll keep God, Gold, and guns, you can keep the change." Oh, silly people! Then there are the Gospodor monuments, which are just weird. There was a new monument with weather vanes. Standing there with Jesus, Chief Joseph, Mother Theresa and Holocaust victims, I just don't know what this one was about! Some day I'll take a picture of these things - it's just not convenient since they are right on the interstate.
We got to Kent around 10, got into the Adopt-a-Thon with little trouble, thanks to Ardella's green coat, and found our way to the MARS group where we greeted everyone and got acquainted with what I would be doing. Ardella drew some people, including a gentleman from the GDB Seattle group who is acquainted with the raisers who are raising Ardella's brother, Amos. I'm hoping to hear from them so we can invite them to the Bruna A Litter group Anna started on Yahoo.
Lyn and Ardella left me in Kent and went elsewhere for a few hours. I sold things, caught up with Leslie on how Charlie is doing, talked to other volunteers in the booth who had adopted from MARS, and bought stuff! Here's my collection from the day.
I'm especially fond of the T-shirts and magnet stickers. I left at 1, so don't know how profitable sales were today. It was very hot and I believe there were other events going on today in the area that competed with people's time. I think we had the best booth and there was a steady trickle of people during the hours I was there, but by the time I left the event was pretty empty. I enjoyed myself and I'm glad I went. I would certainly volunteer to do this again.
Ardella panted hard during the trip up and seemed stressed out. It was hot, but we have air conditioning, plus, she was fine when she was out of the car. She was still panting on the way home, and she sat with her head in my lap almost the whole way. By the time we got home she perked up and didn't have a crash and burn period like she used to have when acting super stressed. Now I'm thinking she just doesn't like traveling. Here are Aidan and Ardella giving me the eyeball as I ate blueberries picked from the garden - Ardella is looking back to normal in this picture.
Finally, Lyn got his hair cut the other day - he wanted me to document the cut so he could be reminded he would never get it cut this short again. I don't think it's that bad, and it will grow out!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Fourth of July
Here's Ardella at the fireworks stand where Lyn and I put in a shift for our puppy club and Lion's Club fundraiser. It was hot, but Ardella did great being a puppy representer for Guide Dogs and stayed cool by eating ice chips and wearing a bandana around her neck with ice tucked into it. The tent was shaded and there was a breeze coming through so she was never too uncomfortable. The last I heard sales were doing great. Lyn even bought a few fireworks for us - the not too noisy kind - so I could learn how to do the cash register. I did run the cash register for about half an hour, but mostly I was with Ardella talking to people who were curious about her and our group.
This was a hard week. I feel guilty starting it out with a cheerful note, but it was emotionally hard. A friend of ours from Friends Meeting was tragically killed in a bicycle accident on the Virginia Tech campus on Thursday where she was attending Friends General Conference. Her name was Bonnie Tinker and she was a dynamic political activist and promoter of social justice.
Then a coworker who had been out on medical leave had her job terminated. I don't know what my work environment is coming to. I don't know how much lower morale can go.
Ardella is a bright spot in my life, and things seem to be going well for her. Anna (who is raising Ardella's sister Avani) has been helping me with some issues, especially with relieving on walks or in stores, and we've been not letting Ardella leave the yard until she does her business. We're also not going many places. As far as her health, she seems to be doing so much better and I'm encouraged that she did okay in the heat today as long as we kept her cool. Oh - Ardella has discovered blueberries - on our bushes. They're prolific and big and juicy and I couldn't resist picking some when I took Ardella outside. I was enjoying picking and eating blueberries off the bush and before I knew it, Ardella had grabbed a mouthful. She's very excited by berries now. Bad me!
Wedding plans are coming along and invitations went out this week. A friend of Keri's made them for her and they're beautiful.
I'm waiting for the firework fiesta that takes place every year on the Fourth. I have to be up by 6 a.m. and have resigned myself to a short night. Oh well. Probably won't be able to do my personal best and do 37,000 lines during my shift tomorrow. I'm such a lame team player...
Sorry folks. I'll try and be perkier the next time I write.
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