Let's Call It a Wrap

The week is almost over... Dirty laundry is loaded into the car, everything else is ready to go as soon as I am in the morning. Dudley is more than ready to go home -- he's been pining away since Jack and Jimmy left yesterday, so I'll have no trouble whatsoever getting him loaded into the car in the morning.

I'm recovering from a bout of acute gastroenteritis earlier this week that was absolutely horrible -- I don't know that I remember being SO very nauseated. After a short trip to the doctor's office, I'm on the mend but still taking it easy with what I'm eating (or not eating...) So far it's been mostly Gatorade, 7-Up, Perrier water and soup with a few crackers. I'm afraid of getting things irritated, but tonight I did integrate some Crystal Light and a microwaved roll with Swiss Cheese into the diet, and things seem to be okey-dokey.

I'm in my pajamas, stretched out on the couch with the dog and the laptop, watching a great U.S. Open match (typing during the commercials...) Blake vs. Santoro is in the 5th, and it's anybody's to take right now. VERY exciting!!! I just can't stand to go to bed yet, but I will say, "goodnight all!"

IT RAINED HERE TODAY!!! I don't know how much, but the rain was very hard for several minutes with lots of thunder and lightning. Everything in our neck-of-the-woods got a long-overdue watering, and there's a chance we'll get more later on this evening.

We got a little bit last night, starting around 11:00 - Frank next-door told me this afternoon that by his gauge, it was 1/16 inch... Big whoop, I know, but it's better than nothing, and with this today we're at least making progress.

Jimmy and Dudley played like fiends today, despite the heat, and I managed to get some nice pictures of them, despite the heat. This morning, before I was ready to be out & about, Jimmy took Dudley on an unauthorized visit to the upper parking lot of the marina. Bad dogs!!

I already had the camera in my hand when the romp began, having taken a few pictures of the dogs together in the yard. Dudley isn't accustomed to being near the road without being on a leash, so I pursued them at a distance in my aquamarine velour capri pants and extreme morning hair, stopping to appreciate the brilliant color scheme of the poke berry structure...

Dudley finally got tired and came back for a nap before round 2 later on in the day. We're so glad that Jimmy and Dudley are big buddies and have so much fun playing together. It's just a shame they don't have more time to spend together -- hmmm... familiar plotline.

Both dogs are now sacked-out on the couch, though Jimmy, in his now typical protective fashion, wakes up to bark whenever he hears the slightest noise. Unnerving, yet comforting...

Photos of the Day -- Butterfly Party

Three Down, One to Go

First of all, thanks for the nice comment, Mom -- I appreciate my regular 'blog surfers', and you're my most loyal one...



To quote a John Denver song, "My bags are packed, I'm ready to go -"



The week has seemed long - I think it's the heat and general listlessness that everyone I know seems to have as a result. Anticipating our accreditation survey at work, which was due in May, is another big frustration, as our everyone I work with (myself included) just want to get it "over with".



I have the clock set for 5:15 in the morning and will hopefully be at work by 6:30. I present my bi-weekly inservice tomorrow afternoon and will be able to leave directly afterward. I still haven't made a decision about what Dudley's day is going to be. I parked near the big fan today and checked on the car temp twice (once in the morning and once in the afternoon), and it seemed to be tolerable, but I do hate to leave Dudley in the garage when it's so hot outside. He just hangs out and sleeps either in his bed or stretched out on one of my t-shirts in the backseat. I give him a water break in the morning, take him to the park for a business trip at lunchtime and an additional water break in the afternoon an hour or so before quittin' time. By the time Dudley needs a pit stop, I do as well, so it all works out.



I am tempted to leave him here in the apartment until lunchtime, but with bags packed, I have to consider physical discomfort in comparison to psychological discomfort. When I've left him at home on days when Jack is coming to visit, like I'll be doing Monday, he hasn't had an easy time coping with being left behind when I take off with a packed car...



Well, it's time for me to tuck things in for the night --



Let's have a great Friday everyone, and kick-off a wonderful weekend!!

MORE DOG PERIL

As if we haven't had enough "dog peril" this week already, last night at tennis, Jack found out that Jimmy and Dudley's very favorite dog treat in the whole world has been linked to kidney failure and sepsis in a number of dogs across the country...

They're these little dehydrated chicken breast things that were, of course, made in China!! I looked on-line just now, and the bag here in the apartment has both the affected UPC and Item numbers that were linked to a dead chihuahua in Pennsylvania over the weekend. There were only a few left in the bag, so I threw them away. Dudley has had some problems with diarrhea in the past few weeks off and on - I can only wonder if it's related to those treats. He normally got two - one in the morning and one in the evening, but no more.

Jack has discontinued them for Jimmy as well, even though the brand we have at home is not one of the ones involved in the recall - yet. We won't run the risk of killing him with dog treats after all he's survived!

SNAKEBITE UPDATE

By the way, according to Jack, the swelling from the snakebite is all gone, and Jimmy seems to have fully recovered, which is just a blessing. It could've been a bad situation in a lot of different ways... We're still watching the area to make sure he doesn't develop an infection - our friend Jeanette called back yesterday to remind us to do that and let us know that if we need an antibiotic for him to just give the office a call, there's a prescription waiting for him should he develop any signs of infection.

Our vet and his whole staff are wonderful -

A BIT OF EDITORIALIZING ON HEAT AND EDUCATION

The weather continues to be excruciatingly hot with no relief in sight. Schools here in the city are releasing at lunchtime for the rest of the week, and I heard today that school may be cancelled all of next week here in the metro area because of the continued heat... I don't know that starting school in the heat of August is the smartest idea in the world from both the health and financial standpoints. It may be that the beginning of the school year is going to result in a big, fat do-over!

Happenstance or lack of forethought, this situation certainly fits nicely into the (+) column on the flipchart for advocates of starting school the Tuesday after Labor Day. I don't have a dog in the "ideal school year" fight, and I'm glad. I can see the benefits of both the traditional school calendar and some of the newer "year round" options that provide longer breaks periodically throughout the year.

As hot as it's been, I can only think that kids would be better off stripped down to swimmin' suits, spalshing around in a creek or pool somewhere than decked out in standard school attire, attempting to engage the learning process in an sweltering classroom with the sun beating down through the windows. Last week my nephew told me that he and a lot of kids have a hard time staying alert and being able to concentrate when they get hot and sweaty and sleepy - they aren't allowed to take water into class, and they just sit there and perspire and get drowsy...

That's no way to establish a learning environment. I know that some of the newer schools are designed to avoid those issues, but there are enough older schools, like the one Artist_Nephew goes to, that DO have problems during weather extremes that there must be some intervention to protect the students and the education process.

JACK'S PLANNING A VISIT

This is "over the hump" night, and I'm glad to be looking at the short side of the week ahead. Jack is coming for a visit again next week, which will be great, and I'm taking the day off on Tuesday to spend with him - we're going to shop for a mattress and/or a couch, depending on what we find. We're in desperate need and plan to replace both in the short-term.

Our current couch is the one I purchased when I went off to nursing school in 1986. It's been reupholstered, slipcovered and a frequent hang-out for an even dozen cats & dogs over the years. The support and springs are completely shot - it's worn completely out. There's no lipstick left to put on that pig. The mattress is just as bad --

At least I have a comfy mattress here in the city, and it's starting to call my name, though "Top Chef" is between me and bedtime!!

The Official Jimmy Snakebite Update: Monday

Jack says Jimmy is fine and feeling much better than last evening and earlier today, so it appears that he's skated through potential disaster yet again.

Let's see... He's been hit by a car. Twice. And STILL hasn't learned his lesson about chasing vehicles, loud trucks traveling fast in particular. I can't count the number of times he's tangled with neighborhood skunks, bringing home the short and smelly end of the stick.

Now this -

Jimmy is a lucky dog. Or he has some kryptonite components...

After his first dose of Benadryl last evening, he became understandably drowsy and seemed to have a peaceful night's sleep. Concern for Jimmy's well-being coupled with some sciatic nerve pain kept me up and checking on him throughout the night. Jack did the same thing so that we could keep close-eye on him in the first hours after the bite.

His swelling had decreased quite a bit this morning when we got up, and Jimmy seemed to feel well. The area immediately around the bite is still very sore, and he doesn't want anyone messing with it, but he's definitely going to be OK.

Jeanette, an old friend who happens to work for our vet, called Jack today for a welfare check on Jimmy, since we'd phoned her in a panic last night after we found out that no emergency services are available after-hours from their office this month. She was very helpful, and it was very nice that she called to check on things today.

Dudley and I are settled in for the evening, having finished his last business trip of the night, and bedtime is quickly approaching.

Jimmy Update: So Far, So Good

The swelling on Jimmy's jaw is much improved this morning, and he seems to be returning to normal after his big, scary snakebite last evening. He and Dudley played for a few minutes this morning before Dudley and I left for the city, and the area around the bite is obviously not as tender today as it was in the hours right after the bite happened. His appetite is good, and we're feeling much more optimistic now...

I'll post another update later, but I did want to touch base to let everyone know we all made it through the night - too much worrying to do any good sleeping, but we made it nonetheless.

Lassie Who?

Too much excitement this evening...

Jimmy got bitten by a copperhead, and we're anxiously watching the situation as the evening progresses.

Life in the boonies is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse...


Jack and I planned for a simple, grilled meal with pork kebabs, fresh veggies, and a baked potato for Sunday evening.


Our rosemary from last year lasted through the winter and has done great in our drought. It's one thing that's thrived throughout the summer, and I suggested that we use some of the woody portions to skewer our pork chunks and veggies.


Since it was dusk and we ALL know about snakes, I grabbed a flashlight before heading down to the bed where the rosemary grows.


Jimmy had been outside for several minutes and was scampering around in the yard like usual...

I checked the rocky edges of the raised bed where the rosemary is and felt that I'd done a decent job "checking the area"...


I'd snipped probably a dozen twigs of rosemary when Jimmy darted through the bed and snatched up a snake that was less than a foot away from me. He thrashed it furiously for several seconds, and I caught enough of the silhouette of the head area to be "concerned"...

Being Jimmy, he refused to respond when I said, "No", "Come", "Drop It", or "Dammit Jimmy", so I elicited Jack's help...


Jimmy was SO proud of his catch that he brought it close enough for identification --

"Damn, that's a copperhead, and it's still alive!" Jack said after a quick flashlight check.

Jimmy took off with it behind the neighbor's house to the pond in their backyard. He frolicked with this thing like it was a toy for a good half-hour, and there was nothing we could do...



Jack drove the Explorer to the neighbor's house and left it running in the driveway for long enough to coerce Jimmy to "load up" for a car-ride. Jack then took the hoe and the flashlight to the edge of the pond where we'd last seen Jimmy with the snake. Dead already, Jack retrieved it to Frank and Teresa's driveway where we confirmed copperhead-ness and realized that it was bigger than we first thought.



Jimmy prevented me from being bitten by this thing, ya'll - and he got bitten himself in the process.



The bite is under the left side of his jaw - there are two bloody places, it's swollen HUGELY, and he won't let either of us get close enough to look at it closely. The picture where one puncture is visible was taken early on -- the swelling is 20 - 30x now what it was then, but Jimmy refuses to face the camera, and considering what he's been through, I'm not going to force it. He saved me from a bad snakebite...

We talked to the emergency vet in Cookeville, have administered 50 mg of Benadryl in a piece of cheese, and plan to have him at our regular vet's when it opens first thing in the morning.



Please keep Jimmy in your thoughts and prayers -- He's a hero dog!

Critter Sitters

House-sitting for Sis-in-Law went great - no problems at all. Her new pets, Ayla the Dog and MelissaKitty, are sweet as can be, and CharlieKitty, who has endured TWO moves, is as laid-back as ever.

Dudley's Home Movie

I posted this yesterday, accidentally deleted it last evening while editing the title of the post...

Now it's BACK, and I'll not mess with it this time!!

ENJOY!! I don't know how much fun it is to watch from an outside perspective, but it was a ton of fun to put together...

We broke a record of 100+ degree temperatures on consecutive days today.

I don't know what 'high noon' felt like, but on Dudley's long walk at around 6:30 this evening, the heat was still awesome. I could feel it radiating from the road and pulsing through the air --

Dudley didn't seem to mind, since he rain into several of his buddies along the way and was able to catch up on some "dog visiting" that was lacking earlier in the week for whatever reason. Sully, the black lab that's one of Dudley's favorite buddies here, was out and about for the first time this week, which seemed to really put some bounce back in Dudley's step. He LOVES his doggie friends and really seemed to miss Jimmy Monday evening when we got settled in here at the apartment.

Tomorrow night Dudley and I are on critter-sitter duty for Sis-in-Law at her place with nephew SK8R. She has both an new dog AND a new kitten, so THIS is going to be different!

I'll try to take some pictures and give the 411 tomorrow evening --

It's time for "Top Chef", so I must call it a night!!

The Heat's Still On...

If the temperature reaches 100 tomorrow, Nashville will be breaking a new record for consecutive days with highs in the triple-digits.

The level of "dry-ness" is unbelievable right now. The only green lawns on our street are the ones that get watered twice daily, and there ARE several of those, but here at the apartment the grass is crispy, brown straw that crunches underfoot and leaves a fine coating of dust on your shoes when you walk through it.

Dudley actually avoids walking in the dry grass - he's low to the ground and the dust in his nose makes him sneeze, so he mostly sticks to the edge of the street.

The only rain in the forecast is a slight chance on Sunday and Monday of next week -

Hopefully one of these hurricanes cooking down in the Atlantic will at least amount to some rain for us eventually. Good Lord we need it!! I hate to pray for a hurricane, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

We'll start Monday's post with some pictures from the weekend - it was a great one!!

A long day has come to an end. Dudley and I have settled in for the evening -

I made a quick run to the little grocery store on the corner of Belmont to pick up a 12-pack of diet Cokes when I got here to the apartment and realized that I only had one can in the fridge. I think the chick that stays here on the weekend sometimes helps herself to my beverages, but I don't mind as long as she doesn't leave the tank completely on "E".

It isn't like I have room to say anything with my occasional "borrowing" of things. Sometimes none of my stuff looks as appetizing as her can of Chef Boy R Dee Ravioli. It all works out in the end...

Today was Metro's first day of school, so traffic was much heavier than normal this morning coming into town, so I started out tired. On Fridays after the long commute, I can kick back on the couch with a beverage and recover from the drive. Mondays are different - finish the drive and get immediately to work, so by this time of the evening, I'm exhausted.

That said, I'm off to bed --

Post 75 - A Trip to the Vet

Yes, this is officially our 75th blog post... I guess that's a milestone!

This morning was a big adventure --

Dudley and Jimmy, both due for rabies vaccinations and routine maintenance, took a trip to the vet.

Everything was all fun and happy until Jimmy realized where he was, and Dudley got into freaked-out "what is this place?" mode. Jimmy dashed the door on his flexi-lead, causing some sort of stir with an under-the-weather poodle. Dudley didn't want to go in and began to tremble so hard it can only be described as "vibration".

He was terrified at first but did warm up to Jeanette by the end of the visit, even though she'd drawn blood and given shots...

He did leave a lasting impression.

Even though he'd "done business" before we left the house, he did more of it as I was checking-out. A lot of it.

I might feel bad about it if Frontline and Heartgard weren't so expensive...

Goodnight and good weekend!

Three-Digit Hot

It's 9 p.m. in the city. Ninety-two degrees, folks. Seriously. I think our high today was 105!!

Today was so hot that a restaurant here in Nashville burst into flames. Actually, it was a grease fire in the kitchen of the upscale "Chinese Bistro" that's on my direct route home to the apartment. The fire spread to the restaurant upstairs from it that is even higher on the "up" scale, so there were firetrucks and news vehicles and helicopters overhead. Quite the scene, but I managed to miss the majority of it. When I realized that the on-going excitement could dramatically impact the time required for my trip home, I cut through the park, two alleys and the Walgreen's parking lot to skirt the traffic.

I guess the moral of this story is: "It's good to know your way around."

Jack and I had a marvelous visit here in Nashville earlier in the week. He was able to stay two nights this time, which gave us ample time to have some fun together, including a "great date" that happened quite by accident.

After taking Jimmy and Dudley to the dog park on Tuesday afternoon, we discussed our dining options, and I suggested a little place that's two minutes up the street. I'd never eaten there but had read about the food in the local alternative weekly and made a mental note to check it out sometime when Jack was in town.

Five minutes after checking out their on-line menu on the laptop here at the apartment, we were seated and sipping cold (half-price on Tuesdays!!) draft beers, deciding on our dinner selections and listening to a jazz quartet get loose for their first set of the evening.

Jack's eyes lit up when he saw the little bandstand outfitted with guitar, sax, upright bass and drum trap.

The food, music, and atmosphere were excellent. Our evening was fantastic - a great dinner (bleu fries, Asian salad for me and salmon tacos for Jack) and an hour-plus long set of jazz standards. AND we were home, walking the dogs, by 9:15!!!

This story's moral? "An evening out shouldn't take all night."

The dogs enjoyed having some time to play together and had a blast at the dog park. We ended up in the large dog area, which is MUCH more laid-back and enjoyable than the small dog area where Dudley and I normally go. Jimmy makes friends easily and doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, so he was a big hit. Dudley prefers hanging with the big dogs, so everything worked out great.

Tomorrow is "going home day", and I can't wait. Once I'm finished presenting an inservice at 3:00, I'm homeward bound.

Goodnight all!

The Dog Days of Summer

There's a reason they're called "dog days", and the Anderson boys have their own unique interpretation of it.

Yesterday after Jack got home from work, we spent some time visiting with our neighbors, catching up with them, letting the dogs run HOG WILD! And they - especially Dudley - literally became "hog-like" in his enthusiasm to cool down after a romp over the valley and through the woods.

When Jimmy and Dixie went splashing into the pond for a refreshing swim, Dudley opted for the mud bath, sinking chin-deep at one point. He was QUITE proud of himself for running with the big dogs but had absolutely no interest whatsoever in swimming with them!

If he'd remembered what happened after his last mud bath, he might have re-considered how much fun it is to wallow in mud like a pig...

All three dogs got bathed, which was a hoot. Dixie was first in line - she stood still as a statue, allowed Frank to hose her down, lather her up and get her fully rinsed. She didn't move a muscle. I started on Dudley next - he didn't like it. He especially didn't like it when his Uncle Frank picked up the hose and started to help. He growled and carried for a few seconds before relenting and letting us finish his bath.

Jimmy presented an even greater challenge, as he felt his dip in the pond WAS a bath. WRONG... Always a two-man job there!!

Tournament Update

Jack and his doubles partner played their semi-final match Friday evening...

...and may I ask RIGHT NOW, has a tennis match EVER started on time in the history of the world???

Although they did not win, they played very well. Their competition, "Team Cowell", a father-son duo, has been playing together forever. Jack and Mr. Real Estate played together for the first time Tuesday evening in their first-round match, so they were quite pleased with the outcome.

Final Score: 6-4; 7-5

My Husband, WINNER!!!

Tonight's blog post is a HUGE shout-out for my hubby!!! He and his men's doubles partner won their first round match of the Dr. Pepper Tennis Tournament in McTown last evening, and I'm so proud I can't stand it. YAY Jack!!!!

I wish I could have been there in the cheering section. Hell, I wish I was there PLAYING, but that's another post for another time...

I WILL be home for his next match on Friday. Keep fingers crossed, everybody!!!

We're "over the hump" for the week, and I'm planning to leave at lunchtime on Friday to make it home in plenty of time for Jack's match --