not an airborne flying carpet

 Little carpets and mats dot the hardwood landscape in the living room creating a series of stepping stones to help the little dog. He’s doing well today - so much better than yesterday - but still slips at times. In some places the floor is more slippery so we’ve dug out every old mat that we could find to add some traction. Carm even dashed out to Giant Tiger for something for the kitchen.

It’s a big relief to see him almost recovered from the anesthetic. He’s still a bit out of it though but I blame that on the codeine tablet. He started eating today too - bits of canned tripe out of my hand - it stinks and is gross but he likes it!

I made a batch of bone broth today using the carcass of an ancient turkey from my mother’s freezer. The smell!!!! 🤢 The rest of the bird has been earmarked for the trash. Hopefully I didn’t ruin the seal of my instant pot… those darn things tend to hang on to odours. I guess tomorrow’s batch of egg bites will reveal any lingering grossness.

“It is better to look forward to summer than to curse winter.”

~Matshona Dhliwayo

the (second) longest day

 It was a long night. Spike was still totally out of it and crashed out on the living room dog bed. I wasn’t going to move him so I stayed with him, starting on the sofa (which is reasonably comfortable), but moving to the floor when he started whimpering. Poor guy eventually got up so Carm took him outside. Once back in he walked into our room and settled on the dog bed there (luckily I’d already put a towel down). We slept soundly till 5am. Outside, back to bed, and up again in another few hours. 

It could have been worse… memories of my last night with Kabira were at the front of my mind.

I don’t know how he could have needed to pee all those times as he hadn’t drunk anything since coming home other than a bit of water I had syringed into him but it was a miniscule amount.

I have learned something: I am too old to sleep on the floor on just a thin mat.

Today we took turns watching him - it’s easy when he’s asleep but once he starts walking around we need to watch carefully as he gets himself boxed in corners and behind furniture, or slides on the floor and can’t get up. He does this a little bit anyway but it’s more pronounced.

He’s gotten a lot better through the day and is sipping water and even ate a bit of supper (yay for canned tripe!).

I played around with the window valances and have decided to keep them up. It looked like when a woman forgets her lipstick when going to a party - good, but not quite finished.

During the long wait yesterday I read back to some of last year’s blog posts - it’s interesting to see how much angst I felt at the beginning of the pandemic, I suppose from not knowing how it was going to roll. Now I just have a numb acceptance and don’t rail against circumstances so much. The most recent talk about vaccines is that we’ll be done by May or if you listen to the other doctor, by September. Still hoping for a big birthday bash!

“For just one second, look at your life and see how perfect it is. Stop looking for the next secret door that is going to lead you to your real life. Stop waiting. This is it: there's nothing else. It's here, and you'd better decide to enjoy it or you're going to be miserable wherever you go, for the rest of your life, forever.”

~Lev Grossman

horror show

 If my day was harrowing (and it was), Spike’s day was a horror show. It started early with a car ride to the dreaded vet. I tried to be cheerful as I passed his leash over to the technician but I gotta tell you, tears were pricking my eyes. He was reluctant to leave me - perhaps he knew on some level that it wasn’t going to be good.

He was in for a cleaning and sadly a few extractions. I’ve been there myself (but only 1 at a time) and know it’s not fun. 

Back at home I busied myself taking down the garlands and trying to declutter a bit. Check on the garlands… the decluttering… not so successful! The problem with open concept is that all your living areas are in one giant room so it looks like we have way too much furniture (we do). The walls are busy with window casements and a few paintings. I tried removing the fabric swath above the windows but that didn’t look good AT ALL. I think they help to draw the eye up away from all the furniture: large brown sofa, large brown loveseat, 2 wing chairs, 2 recliners that I hate, a futon lying flat, treadmill, giant table with 6 chairs, huge desk… oh, and 3 dog crates, a smaller loveseat, a big coffee table, a large shelf that’s in the shape of an elephant, a sofa table, a long buffet. OMG! It’s too much!

We did get the new carpet yesterday - I love it! The fireplace area now looks cosy - a perfect place to visit with a friend.

The windows look bare without their little strip of fabric.

Back to today: The vet office finally called around 1:30 to say that he was through the surgery and resting. Big relief. I paced around as we waited for the next phone call to set up a pickup time.

Finally by 4:30 we were on our way home. He was groggy and unable to walk. He was crying and crying. I was crying and crying. Oh gosh, my heart was breaking.

I carried him into the house and set him down on a dog bed where he lay for ages just shivering and moaning. I ended up calling the vet and of course while I was on the phone he struggled up and pooped, a few minutes later he peed on himself. Poor little guy. 

I tried to get him to take his pain killers with no luck. Maybe by bedtime. Right now (7pm) he’s out cold.

This little dog lives large in my heart.

“In a person's lifetime there may be not more than half a dozen occasions that he can look back to in the certain knowledge that right then, at that moment, there was room for nothing but happiness in his heart.”

~Ernestine Gilbreth Carey