September 15, 2007
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Baron and The Squeaky Toy
I knew when I bought it that I would probably regret it but I did it anyway. I bought our doberman pup a squeaky toy. It looks like a shaggy caveman cartoon character but had an easily mouthed shape. I wasn’t really sure if he would like it or be so startled by the squeaking (like his squeaking tennis ball) that he wouldn’t play with it.
At first, he was startled and would hide then bark at it. When he finally realized that HE was making it squeak, he was just delighted. It is now his favorite toy and he entertains us for (what seems like) hours at a time. (Insert grimace of sarcasm here)
Last night, as he was relaxing by The Beast’s feet (the Beast was playing Hearts online), he just squeaked it and squeaked it and squeaked it ad infinitum until I was ready to choke him (the dog, not the Beast ) Finally, even The Beast’s patience wore thin and he took t away f rom him and gave him a dental bone to chew on. Baron was NOT happy over the switch and let The Beast know it with some disappointed barks (that lasted for a good five minutes before he settled down).
A piece of news regarding my broken wrist (another Baron legacy)…..I have to go into the local hospital this Monday for a closed reduction to put the bones back into their proper places. The orthopedic doctor tried a local anesthetic in his office and attempted to do it when I was there on Thursday afternoon. He actually put me into a sound-proof room so, if I screamed, I wouldn’t scare the shit out of the other patients, including those waiting to see him.
He complimented me on my high pain threshold because he could see the sweat break out on me while he was making the attempt. He finally stopped and said I had two choices: one, let the bones heal where they were. It would mean some loss of flexibility, some pain on occasion and arthritis in the area down-the-road OR I could go into outpatient surgery for a general anesthetic to knock me out (I would have insisted on THAT, trust me), a closed reduction and the insertion of two removable wires to prevent the bones from slipping out of place while healing. The wires could be removed in his office (like its no big deal!). He casually mentioned there would be some chance of infection and, maybe, some carpel tunnel problems. I weighed the options (as I was looking at the ugly wrist) and opted for having it be the best it could be. So, on Monday at approximately 9 A.M. Central, pray for me. I DID ask the doctor if the reduction involved a hammer and he said, “Just a small one…” as we both laughed. I hope he was kidding.I learned how to make my own hummingbird nectar and was told (by an ornithologist) NOT to use any kind of red dye in it. Although the color red attracts hummingbirds, there is usually red on the feeders themselves (true) that attracts them. The red dye is actually harmful to their tongues and general health over time. For those that don’t know, you use one part regular granulated sugar to four parts water. Boil the water, add to sugar and stir well. Let cool and fill feeder. Any excess can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks. The nectar should be replaced in the feeders every four to five days. My feeder holds a little over two cups of nectar and, by Day 6, is almost gone anyway. Oh, and do NOT substitute honey for the sugar. Honey will attract bees and can cause severe tongue and beak problems in the hummingbirds since it will grow a nasty black mold. It causes other problems too but you can’t see liver damage so why mention it?
We went to Tara’s house (my niece) for another of her sons birthday dinners. Poor gal has three of her five kids birthday’s in September. This son chose steak, REAL mashed potatoes and gravy and cheese broccoli for his menu. That’s yummy to the tummy in MY book any time. There was also the traditional ice cream cake and something called Cherry Fluff, which I didn’t get to try but will have to attempt to make one day. I haven’t talked to their grandmother yet (my sister *C*) but I will later today. Tara told me she got the sweetest email from her mother that morning, all about how good a mother she (Tara) was in her mother’s eyes. I join in that sentiment and told her so.
Today, Tara and her two older boys are at an Indian Pow-Wow. It’s the Northeastern Alabama Cherokee tribe’s Annual Pow Wow. They were invited by a friend, Bad Moon Rising (his birth name). He has his name he was given when he was older (some kind of Hawk name, forgive me for forgetting). He does face painting at these events since he is very artistic, When not attending this event, he does various things like sign painting, leather work….too much to mention really. And these are just things he does to relax and earn a little extra cash. He actually has a regular job, too.
He attended the party and invited The Beast and I to attend . We won’t go this year but will probably go next year. It’s been more years than I can count since I was at one. The last time, I went with my great-grandfather, whp is dead many, many years now.
I admit I am a bit anxious about this surgery on Monday. It will be just like breaking my wrist all over again since that is really what will be taking place. I hate the thought of all that pain all over again. But, for the sake of my crocheting projects I have planned, I have no other choice.
I don’t know if I mentioned it before but years ago I made afghans for the oldest three of Tara’s kids (all boys). I made them in red, white and blue bands and varied the colors sequence and width of the bands so the boys could easily tell their’s apart.
Imagine my shock to find out they all stll have them and wouldn’t give them up!!!! They are discolored now for various reasons but I decided that I would make each of the boys their own new afghans for Christmas. I just hope they like them as well this time as they did the first
Well, it’s time to try to get a few things done around here. I’m a bit limited, as you can imagine, but I can still do a lot of my normal household things except sweep. I DID give it a try but it was laughable. Just try it youself sometime. And FORGET using the dustpan. So I just let the Beast do it.
Have a great weekend and think of me on Monday. Love you all.
