again

I was relaxed and sleepy as I sipped my Camomile tea. It was almost time for bed so Carm had the dogs outside for a minute. Carm came barreling through the door shouting "There's a skunk out there!" Too late, one of the dogs got skunked. Not Kabira this time - her turn was about a month ago. Spike was rubbing his face all over the loveseat so I knew he was the one that got bombed. I scooped him up and ran to the laundry room where we keep the Skunk stuff.

So much for relaxed… I spritzed and sprayed, sponged and drenched, in an effort to cleanse. I got some of the smell off, but until he dried I wouldn't know where to add extra effort. Into his crate he went. He sat there with the door closed,head hanging. There was no wagging tail, just a cringing body. He settled down and started to shiver - I couldn't just leave him there so got out one of his coats and dressed him up before scooting him back into his kennel.

My heart cried for the poor little guy - he hasn't had to spend the night locked up since he was a little puppy - I couldn't leave him alone in the living room shivering and cold. I got out a blanket and settled on the futon so he wouldn't be alone. Late into the night I did let him out to snuggle with me and yes, there was still work to do on the de-skunking.

Of course we had company coming the next night. Skunk makes a pervasive 'air freshener' but at least there were no other smells in the house! Sadly it will take another month for the smell to totally dissipate…

Tuesday I met my new GP and took the opportunity to get a tetanus/diphtheria/whooping cough booster. No big deal right? That evening I started chills - I was freezing - two pairs of wool socks, a big fleece sweater, scarf wrapped around my neck, the hood of my sweater pulled over my head and a blanket on top of everything could barely keep me warm. A headache started. I was exhausted. I was no better Wednesday morning so I called my friend to cancel lunch as I thought I was coming down with something…

Internet search to the rescue (well, not exactly rescue cause it didn't cure me). It seems this was a fairly common reaction to the vaccine. I was relieved that I wasn't getting sick because we still had a bunch of people coming for supper.

We were celebrating Marie's birthday and everyone was making a contribution. We sat down at a table groaning under the weight of Chinese food. We ate and we ate, everybody stuffing themselves till they nearly burst. Then the two cakes came out - one with candles of course. The mocha mousse was light while the cherry cheese cake was heavy with a delicious, creamy base. All of us had one of each kind. We pushed back our chairs and groaned. Too much food! I had luckily recovered enough to keep up with the crowd. Then we talked and laughed until late into the night.

Pepe Le Pew: This little love bundle. Now she is seeking for us a trysting place. Touching, is it not? Come, my little peanut of brittle. I will help you. Wait for me. Wait.