Lovingheart

Having been off work for a couple of weeks for a variety of reasons, I slow down, maybe even sit or lie down more.  Last night, lying on the floor with the dog partially biting me, partially resting with me, I felt at peace.  And that peace is often not there when I am working.  I get caught up in one thing or another.  An injustice or even just a comparison and we can always come up short if we compare to others. I just finished a book called David and Goliath which speaks much of the underdog, of those who have withstood hardship to go on to do great things.  This hardship is often experiencing the death of a loved one or some sort of religious strife. And I think of our beliefs of right and wrong and how we hurt other people.  That baffles me and yet I know I have done it.  It can be as small as an insensitive statement or judging another.  And again I make the decision to strive to be understanding of differences and even hold my mouth in check.  If only I could learn to think befo

Happy New Year!! New year 2021 we were at the hospital so I count us lucky we were able to wake in our own beds this morning. I was marveling the other day that the dog is more scared of vacuum cleaners than she is of chainsaws. Maybe I don't vacuum enough. We have had a quiet week here.   Josephine has been off work as well and the dogs have benefited from several good walks with both their moms.  Stella is very attached to Josephine but she accepts me if her primary person isn't there. Overall Marlon has been well but he has had times each day that he has been feeling poorly.  Variety. Please don't take my blanket away from me.  I did take it away to wash it and she was happy to have it returned.

Merry Christmas! Christmas eve, Josephine came with us on our walk.  Stella and Mina bounded along.  I looked behind me and saw a big blob of brown saying hi to Mina.  Turns out it was a dog walking nearby with his owner, a brown lab named Cooper.  At first, Mina was happy to say hi but Stella was fearful.  They walked with us and Stella and Cooper barked loudly and played rough with Stella bearing her teeth but eventually enjoying the play.  Mina was not ok with it.  She didn't want to walk, kept falling behind, with both Cooper's owner and myself taking turns carrying the pup.  I am wondering if maybe she meets Cooper on her own so she can see he is a nice dog.  I am guessing she saw and felt Stella's original fear. We had another tower of presents this year.  The stacking was courtesy of Paco.  Lots of wrapping and big boxes but not really much stuff. I did get a video of Mina opening her present. https://youtu.be/HCmLVL3rUM4 It has been a pretty low-key Christmas and I

It surprises me how fast it is to get out of the routine of writing regularly.  And then how much effort it takes to write again! I used to hold onto the idea that it takes 21 days to create a positive habit, to have something be more routine.  Maybe so, but it takes so much less to stop. At Marlon's last hospital visit, I finally relented and decided we would get in-home physio for him.  I have been against the idea, not because I don't want anyone in our home, but mostly because it seems more of a hassle and an expense to have someone come here rather than us go into a physio office.  For Marlon, in his situation, and with the referral, it is cheaper to have it in-home. Many phone calls later and we have someone set to come here.  We really need to see improvement in his strength and mobility.  Marlon is pretty good at wearing the brace but we aren't sure it is really helping much. After writing this, I watch Mina slowly stand up and hobble over to her food dish.  She mov

Last Thursday, Marlon had an off day which he still gets ever so often so he didn't go to outdoor school.  He felt nauseous, weak, and low energy. As it turned out, he spent most of Saturday feeling miserable and unable to keep anything down.  Add to that a big wind storm, a power outage, and he was not a happy camper. I was at work, he felt bad, it was dark, and he messaged me to leave work early.  I did not but shortly thereafter the power came back, he was able to have computer time, and started to feel better again. Marlon had a hospital visit on Tuesday.  I had been asked to bring all his medication along and I was asked a couple of times why I would still have the Prednisone and I said it was from the time he didn't take it because of his fractured wrist.  After work that night, when I went to give him his pills, I realized the date on the Prednisone container was September 2020.  Duh!  When I went to give other nighttime pills, I couldn't find the container.  I looke

Last Monday, we made a last-minute decision to go for a walk with friends.  Three siblings and their mom.  Mina was happy to trot along and loves the extra attention.  We even enjoyed having chickadees land on our hands as they picked sunflower seeds off them.  Afterward, we left Mina with other friends in Guelph while Marlon and I went to the mall.  He has decided he wants a book on Greek mythology and, knowing how picky he is, I thought we'd better review our options.  They only had one big book but after reading it for a while, Marlon didn't have too many complaints and felt he was able to learn from it.  It will be a Christmas present.  Mina was ok being left with friends (even though she hasn't met them before) but was happy we came back to get her. Tuesday was a double hospital day.  First hospital was to get Marlon's brace and second was to check Marlon's blood counts.  I worked in the evening and by the time we got back, I had a rush walk with Mina and Stell