Since the passing of my father-in-law in June, our household has gotten larger - not merely with our new fab-u-maxi-van, but also thanks to our adoption of a darling almost-three-year old Scottish Terrier named Megan. Megan was my dad-in-law's dog, and as such she had to endure the horrible situation of her master dead on the floor, no food or person to walk her for days until his body was found. She was, to be honest, a basket case when we got her. I wasn't sure how we'd manage - she was peeing and pooping all over our house, then our beagle, Annie, was ALSO peeing and pooping all over in protest and our cats were terrified.

But I worked with Meg to figure our what "schedule" she was used to for being walked. We did one night of crate-training and then moved to quasi-crating which is basically keeping her in my bedroom with me all night, and she barks to wake me up to go out. At first it was tough - she was used to living with a senior citizen and thus was demanding to be walked at 6am, whcih is probably a few hours after he was awake anyway! Now, we have come to a more civilized compromise of both doggies cheerfully (and "successfuly" - i.e. they pee and poop all in the same trip!) being escorted on leash and harness at 8am and then another few trips in afternoon and evening.

She has calmed considerably and I have even taught her some manners and "house rules". Unlike Annie who is calm but enjoys her treats and cuddles, Megan loves playing fetch with squeaky toys and tennis balls but doesn't care to sit on a lap. I splurged and got her the "As Seen On TV" Doggie Steps so that she can scramble up into bed with me when she wants to - otherwise she sleeps on the floor next to my side of the bed. Luckily she was used to going to the groomer and so  her most recent trip for a proper Scottie cut garnered rave reviews from the grooming technicians who noted how beautifully behaved she was.

She is sitting here at my feet as I type late tonight - she refuses to go to bed with out me.

Without further adieu, here are our sweet "girls", Annie and Megan:

Yesterday I was suffering from IBS-related woes. I had to run out for a few quick errands, though, and sweated through each seemingly-endless red light, my guts churning and gurgling all the way.

As I sat waiting to make a left-hand turn, I noteced the vanity plate on a red VW Jetta in front of me:

KOLNRN 1

After reading the plate aloud I realized that perhaps her car should have been BROWN instead of red!

 

So...I have nothing witty or fun or remotely interesting to write about as we are extremely busy and mentally preoccupied with getting all of this estate stuff rolling along. There are so many papers to be signed, things to be faxed and fed-exed and notarized...and the estate hasn't even gotten into probate court yet!

I'm also waitng to hear from the Van store as to when our new tv/dvd player is arriving (the one that came with the van doesn't work; they are replacing it gratis.)

Next Saturday we leave by Van for the golden sands of New Jersey! So next week I will be cleaning, organizing, packing, re-packing...and unfortunately today I'm trying to not touch anyone or anything because I came down with a case of bacterial Conjuctivitis (pink eye.) Ick. Thankfully I've got eye drops to burn away the germs.

Delicious.

 

I have always snickered at the manner in which people who suddenly come into money spend their new-found greenbacks. With most Americans, it's usually big, huge obnoxious TV's and/or some sort of equally obnoxious, gas guzzling, road-hogging automobile.

Count me in among the latter! Yesterday, we dropped some coin (courtesy of a recent inheritance) on a HUGE and totally sweet GMC Savana Regency conversion van. Granted, with its sheer size and gas mpg rating, it will not be my primary vehicle. I will continue to walk, bike and/or drive my more modest Tortoise (Taurus) for everyday use. This van is for our family's twice-yearly trips back and forth to PA/NJ from Chicago. And maybe also for additional travel adventures across North America.

Its ironic because I am typically anti-automobile, anti-emissions, anti-gas-consumption... but, damn, for a long haul its like travelling business class - plenty of room for luggage, kid, dogs, snack coolers, etc. Naturally its got the tv/dvd built in (so I guess in a way, we DID get a tv, too!) plus a "sofa" that reclines into a "lounge" (i.e. - small bed.)

Speaking of the "lounge," guess who christened the Van last night in the driveway -- and I ain't talking about breaking a champagne bottle on the bow! My hubby made a special CD for the occasion, complete with "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" by Barry White" and of course, "Chevy Van" by Sammy Kershaw.  Oddly enough, he included that 70's novelty hit, "Convoy" in the mix as well.

Now I gotta get one of those bumper stickers: "If the Van's a-Rockin', Don't Come a-Knockin'!"

Is it remotely possible to gain 4 lbs overnight due to That Time Of The Month ????????

Whoever wrote that song "I enjoy being a girl" needs to go buy me some pamprin! And Chocolate. Now! grrrrr!

In a previous entry, I mentioned my participation in the 2006 local 4th of July parade. This year, our local library outdid themselves (and won first place) by creating a really cool pirate ship float with these incredible cannons (tested to be crowd-safe.)

If you have somewhere to store a driveable pirate ship, it is for SALE on Ebay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also check out the web-u-mentary on the building of this vessel at http://www.operationeyepatch.com

Personally I think the US Navy should buy it, float it in the Sea of Japan and scare North Korea...

 

At least I am having SOME luck with pets: I discovered that at least one of the tadpoles I released into my pond is now a cute lil' happy hopping frog! And yes, the pond is overrun with floating plants. But 50-60% surface area coverage is recommended in summer as it keeps the water cooler, prevents algae buildup, provides shade for the critters (frogs, fish, snails, and lord knows what else) and the roots of these plants filter waste from the water.  I also include here pictures of my flower garden in full bloom. There is a wall of tiger lilies, plus my little garden angel "memorial garden", and a St. Francis statue near my climbing roses. On this day, St. Francis is kindly holding some peanut butter sandwich crusts in his bird/squirrel feeder bowl!

Click below to view a slideshow of my Great Outdoors:

 

Percy is doing quite well today. I got him some pain meds from the vet, as obviously, he was bruised and sore from being tossed around. He also has a sprained tail - xrays show it isn't broken - so it will be at least a week until he's holding it up to show he's happy - but for now he's acting "normal":eating, cuddling, purring, using litter box, even playing with toys a little - so we are relieved.

Yesterday, my daughter and I marched along with fellow cast and crew members from our parish musical in our town's 4th of July Parade. It was so much fun - but EXHAUSTING! Some friends and I pulled her in a wagon as its a 2 mile trek. We all wore our neon tie-dye shirts from the show.

Yesterday I perpetrated (accidentally!) an activity I thought only lived in urban legends: I ran the dryer...with our unfortunate cat, Percy, riding inside! Apparently he crawled in when the door was open. I was doing permanent press stuff with other items, like table linens so I stopped the cycle to take out the damp khaki pants, etc. to finish via air-drying on hangers. I left the door open, went to get more hangers, then closed the door and started up the machine. I heard this "thud thud" on each spin, and at first assumed some towels or a tablecloth got tangled up. So about 5 minutes later, after being annoyed by the constant thuds I opened the door to stop the machine and "untangle" the damp mass of clothes.

Instead of twisted linens I found a limp, panting,wide-eyed, bloody-faced Percy! My heart absolutely sank - I assumed I broke his neck and killed him. I just frantically carried him into my car and sped to the nearest animal E.R. (luckily only 1 mile from my house.) I was saying prayers to St. Francis the whole way there, which seemed like an eternity. I started to feel better when I noticed that he was able to move around, apparently responding to the air conditioning blowing on him.

Percy was rushed in to the treatment room where he was first examined and then plunged into a tub to be soaked in cool water. His temp on arrival was over 105 but after about 5-10 minutes the Vet and attendants got him down to 103 (high end of the normal range for cats.) By 9 pm when I called he was back to a normal temp of 99 and xrays revealed no fractures or other internal injuries. The blood, which ended up all over the clothes and dryer, was from his tongue - apparently he bit it during the tumble. Luckily for percy the dryer was practically overloaded with clothes so although banged up, he only suffered from hyperthermia and no other injuries. He was given an iv of fluids to hydrate him and some antibiotics for his scapes/bitten tongue.

I barely slept at all last night. I called the Animal ER at 7:45 and was told that he was stable and ready to go home. Thankfully he looked and acted "normal" when I picked him up this morning. He is a bit shaken, and has spent the day hiding under my bed, but other than that he was spared a terrible end in the bug, hot, metal drum.

Please be careful with household appliances and pets/children. Also, never leave a pet or child in a car as they can also quickly overheat and die from heat stroke. I learned my lesson.

My dad-in-law, John's wake/funeral/memorial luncheon went beautifully. I worked my tuchas off getting it all together and, thankfully, in the end, everyone raved about how beautiful the service was, what stunning floral arrangments, great homily and eulogy, awesome music/cantor. I've also gotten accolades for the top-shelf luncheon and hospitality suite after-party I put together -"put together" meaning emailing and phoning all week with the catering manager at a local Sheraton hotel. It could have easily been a wedding, minus the cake and white dress. But John impressed upon me that he wanted to go out in style and luckily we were able to access John's funds to pay for the funeral of his dreams.

And now the other shoe drops...

My brother-in-law, the one with liver failure had a liver transplant a few weeks ago. His body was responding well and even got to go home on Tuesday. He sounded thrilled to be on the road to full recovery. But we just got word that he's back in the hospital with massive blood clots in his arm. *sigh*