Hello Again!

Isnt that cute? A friend from HS has posted about this craft show called A Gathering of Friends and I have been wanting to go. We went! And I bought this adorable set of blocks - the opposite side has a Christmas message. I love it - and do not begrudge the money I spent on it - but I keep looking at it and thinking "I could do this!". And then I laugh and laugh.....

So we are surviving nursing a dog, unpacking more things, discovering that we do not have enough bookshelves in this house, and little room to put them in.....

 So she had her surgery. And they kept her overnight on Morphine and antibiotics. Came home and she was still so zonked that we could barely get her up to go to the bathroom. So she dribbled. And we wiped it up. The next day we went to buy doggie diapers - and they don't make them big enough! We got the largest size and only needed them for that one more day until all the drugs were out of her system. Of course, after that we found out she really needed to be on her Trazedone. How did we find out? A week later taking her in for a bandage change and she ran down the driveway - jumped into the truck - and broker her splint....so she went on her trazedone until her 3 change. That is when they took her stitches out and left the bandage off.

It is also when we discovered another swelling, in the same place, on her other front paw. So yes, she is going to have to have surgery again. But we are hoping to wait until January so we can get through yardwork and the holidays. She will also have plastic surgery done on the granuloma on the foreleg on that same side. I really do not look forward to having her go through this again....or having to nurse her again....and force more pills down her....And there is not garauntee that this follicular problem will not occur again on her other paws....

 This was the temporary enclosure that husband built to keep her out of the dirt yard. She only has the patio and the side, with the concrete walk, and she. does. not. like. it. But we have to keep her boo boos clean. And she has learned how to take the socks off that we put on her.  She also learned on to take her diaper off - and how we cant put it on her if she sits down cause she is too heavy! I will measure her and get non-disposable diapers for her before her next surgery (I already got her bootees).

BUT we are hoping to have the yard done before that. When we went to the pathetic Home and Garden Show we got the number for 2 companies. The first one came out - and showed us gorgeous photos with lots of suggestions for concrete work...….and a price tag of about $42,000.00! More than double what we expected!

So we called the other guy and he came out with some ideas that were more along the lines of what we were thinking (after all, we are not Pebble Beach...) using flagstones. And a price tag of $7500.00 which is less than what husband expected! So now that Bella has healed, we are waiting on his availability - and hoping it comes before the rains start!

Those are just some pretty photos from the vegetable stand we go to in Moss Landing. Much better selection - and much better prices that any of the Farmer's Markets around here.

Happy Anniversary!

30 years ago this past June we moved back to CA to be closer to my mom who was ill, and to help my dad out. So we initially moved into their house with them. And we lived there for a few months - not the most ideal situation. I got a nightshift job in Salinas, and husband was looking for a job.

On October 17th my dad went in for cataract surgery and was home. Husband, kids and I were all in the back bedroom watching the World Series when it happened.....yep, the Loma Prieta earthquake. Very surreal.

First earthquake for our kids. One of the biggest we ever felt. We lost power and communication. I did not even try to go to work that night - not knowing the road situation, and with my dad fresh from surgery.

So …. 30 years go by. And we move back into this same house in June. And here it is October and the 30th anniversary of the earthquake. And we have had earthquakes. A big one up in the Bay Area. And then an even bigger one down here. Don't know if Mother Nature is just dancing with us or what.

The day of the one here - we were outside getting an (outrageous!!) quote for landscaping of the back yard. The estimator and I just looked at each other - not even the usual "Was that an earthquake?" Nope, it was - "THAT was an earthquake!". And my husband never even felt it - only believed up when he saw things still moving.

That estimate - wow! Even shocked my husband. Their work is beautiful. But it really was a bit more over the top than what we wanted or visualized.

So yesterday another guy came. And immediately his vision was more in line with what we wanted. And way more within our budget! So we put a down payment down. Now it just depends on Bella's recovery and when they are able to start....

Took Bella in on Monday. They said her incision is healing nicely but we needed to get her on her tranqs. We realized that when she RAN down the driveway, jumped into the truck, and kept jumping all around. So we came home and gave her 2 tablets - and I had to keep going over and making sure she was breathing! So Tuesday we tried 1 pill, and it did not phase her. Yesterday went to 1.5 pills and she is awake, going to the bathroom, eating, but still spending most of the time laying around sleeping. Bingo!

She goes back again next Monday. We will see then if she is ready for stitches to come out or not.

And So It Continues....

We have received some decent news about our friend and his heart issues. He went to the appt at Stanford and the cardiologist there told him that the only change he would make right now would be his medications. He does not think, at this time and based on his tests thus far, he is a candidate for surgery. Says that overall he is looking ok.

Got our floors/baseboards done - well, 99.75%. They ran out of the trim for one side of the hearth. I love how they turned out. My only complaint is that we listened without questioning to the salesman, the one who actually came to the house looked around and did measurements. And we chose the baseboard he recommended. We did not question that our furnace registers are very close to the floor on the wall. So they had to do cutting around them. Which means eventually hubby will have to patch, sand, and paint the joins.

Then hubby spent yesterday moving everything back into the house. And we were able to get the desk inside also. And got some clothes put away so we emptied (he mostly) emptied out some boxes.

Me? I spent Friday deathly ill. I know it couldn't have been food poisoning because all this week we have eaten the same thing, while we spent every day outside sitting on the patio with the dogs while the guys were doing the floors. I did go out and run some errands so I must have picked up some GI bug somewhere.

But I have recovered. Yesterday was spent on trying to get my energy back. Hubby has been building a temporary fence to keep Bella out of the dirt yard. Her surgery is Tuesday. Tomorrow we will take her and bathe her (well, both of them - they both stink!).

They are just going to do the paw surgery. We discussed with Aaron - not sure who Aaron is - winder if they are called VA's instead of PA's? Anyway he said that the more he and the vet discussed doing both surgeries they realized that both of her front legs would have to be splinted and it would be very hard for Bella to get around. So we are prioritizing and doing only the paw. Which is good; she has had some not so good days this past week. But oh boy is she going to be mad at us!

We were supposed to go camping this weekend, Thursday through today. We cancelled because they weren't don't with the floors by the end of Wednesday as we thought (could be because they don't start work until around 10 - 10:30 but knock off before 5!!!!) and then we needed time to move things back in - and build that fence.....and I am SO GLAD! I could not imagine being that sick in a trailer!!!

So we will be spending a lot of time at home over the next couple of weeks. And that will be good - we can get even more work done around the house!