i don't need no education

Yesterday, before I even opened my eyes, I could tell it wasn’t going to be a good day. I felt awful - it only took a few minutes to realize it was precisely the feeling I get when I forget to take my meds at bedtime. Oh bother, but at least I knew what the problem was. I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen so I could take the offending pills.

When I take them the next morning it takes about an hour before I stop feeling like I have the worst hangover, and then a few more hours before I stop feeling like a zombie, so I headed directly back to bed and crashed for another three hours. I still felt a little wonky when I got up - a nasty reminder that my meds have a sedating effect - I’m used to it normally as the worst is felt when I’m asleep… but yesterday I had to struggle all day.

It was with no great excitement that I got Adia into the car for the drive into the city for her class. I’m a nervous passenger at the best of times, but with the blowing snow there was ice across some of the road… and it was cold… and my head was still a little fuzzy. Thankfully, my hero Carm had agreed to drive me. I knew he’d get us there and back safely so tried to keep my mouth shut and not let my nervousness show.

Class was fun, although I will admit to not being the brightest student in the class. Still, Adia did well and we didn’t shame ourselves. We’ve already practiced a bit - Spike had to get in the thick of things to show Adia how much he knows -  she’s just a young whippersnapper! He’s not been getting up to eat breakfast lately so he’s pretty hungry later in the day and eager to earn treats.

I almost drove Carm out of the house this morning with cooking chicken hearts. I figured I needed higher value treats for school and since I have a bunch of chicken hearts… I chopped  them up and ‘waved them before sticking them in the dehydrator. Yeah, it stunk a bit, but you’d think by the way he went on about it that I was making the liver/tripe/fish treats that’d I’d done in the dehydrator years ago! At the time I didn’t smell anything - I had a bad cold - but I guess it was horrible. The dehydrator was relegated to the garage for the rest of that experiment.

I think Adia had high hopes when we loaded her in the car this afternoon and was aghast when she saw that we were at the nail clipping place! She shook like a leaf, but was a pretty good girl for Katie. When we got home we pinned Spike to the floor and nipped his nails too… It’s a hard life for a dog.

In the middle of the night last night I lay awake wondering what food we’d need in the house if a nuclear missile was shot down above us and there’d be some sort of short nuclear winter. In my grim fantasy we’d have enough time (and no one else would clog the roads) to get to the dog food place, freshco for pasta and pasta sauce, and Costco for a bunch of bags of rice. Oh, and we would have time to make sure our propane tank was topped up. Strange midnight delusions.

“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life.

" Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, 'Wait and Hope.”

~Alexandre Dumas

the rise of skywalker

I blinked my eyes as I stepped out of the darkened building, taking a moment to reorient myself. No, I wasn’t on some distant planet with weird characters around me, no that wasn’t an x-wing fighter… I was standing on the sidewalk looking at a crowded parking lot with bits of grey sludge at the edges. The sky was grey. It was slightly anti-climatic.

We’d met up with Jo Ellen and Don for an afternoon escape to watch Star Wars. We were at the theatre with the comfy seats reclined to a comfortable angle and the screen was at the perfect height to immerse us in the action. 3D glasses perched on our noses as the film started rolling - when the introductory words started scrolling across the screen I was transported back to 1977 to a theatre playing the first episode. Back then we were amazed by the spectacle! I’ll admit to still being transported by the story.

I told myself that I wouldn’t eat popcorn anymore… but WHO THE HECK can watch a movie without popcorn! I was careful though and came through unscathed.

Once home we released the hounds and they hurtled around outside for a bit, but not for long enough as later in the evening, both of them started misbehaving. Spike spurred Adia on and before we knew it she was ricocheting around the house. It was clearly time to get her outside. She zoomed around the field, like one of the weird modes of transport in the movie. Eventually her fuel sputtered out and we could go back inside. But not before she unearthed an apple.

The other night I made Thai Spicy Peanut Curry which was a big hit. It was reasonably easy to make, although I’ll add more vegetables next time. I’ve gotten mired in an endless repeat of meals so plan to branch out a bit - I’m getting sick of the same old thing!

“Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all.”

~Emily Dickinson

pineapple express

As the afternoon wore on the clouds thinned, until, finally, a sliver of bright sun shone into the house, getting me up from reading and outside with the dogs. They ran around a bit, but not enough as when I brought them inside they went berserk and ran top speed from one end of the house to the other, Adia leaping and Spike growling and chasing. When the laundry rack went flying it was clear that there was no option… 

Carm had to take Adia outside for a good round of ‘deek the lion’ - she doesn’t run for me like she runs for Carm. She went crazy and must have ran for 10 minutes at top speed. I sat in the comfort of the bench seat that encircles the livingroom and watched out the window. She flew in circles around him, large top speed ones, and smaller more agile ones. Carm lunged and grabbed to her delight. There is no game as exciting as this. 

I think Carm tired out before she did, but nevertheless, she stepped into the house a much calmer dog.

Earlier in the afternoon, a special delivery came for Adia - a new toy advertised as being nearly indestructible. This pineapple shaped rubber toy caught her attention and she chewed and played with it until the previously mentioned outing. After that she was too tired for toys and fell asleep on the futon.

The sun has dipped behind the trees across the street lighting the sky with a strip of pinky orange. The lights are on over the sofa and the little twinkle lights that are distributed around the room will come on soon. I might light a few candles to further fight against the gloom. The little spots of light make me feel content and strangely comfortable as if I were in a cosy cocoon.  Tonight I’m going to try a new recipe: Spicy Thai peanut curry with not-quite-chicken instead of tofu. 

“Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o'clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without.”

~Thomas De Quincey