January 2, 2001
Official Rule of the Day*:
Brauer's Warning: He who tries to pick all the flowers is sure to get some poison ivy.
(David F. Brauer, Orlando, Fla.)
* From The Official Rules and Explanations, the original guide to surviving the Electronic Age with Wit, Wisdom, and Laughter. Compiled and annotated by the Irrepressible Paul Dickson.
The house is once again silent, except for the low mutter of a small television set. Chelsea is asleep in the hall outside this room. I assume she's either protecting me from invaders or (more likely) making sure Bruce doesn't wake up and do something beyond her watchful eye. It only took her a couple of days to figure out that she could keep an eye on both of us from her current location. Unfortunately, she's temporarily forgotten: Bruce left yesterday.
When I got back home after delivering him to the airport, I walked in on her peering out the living room window. This is a pose I've seen before. She thinks she heard something or maybe saw some lights, but isn't positive. So she pokes her head through the curtains to stare at the driveway. When I hollered to let her know I was home, she got all excited and ran over to me.... and past me as I walked through the living room. This was definitely unusual behavior and I'm sure I blinked in confusion. Then I heard her run the length of the kitchen to the back door and all was clear: she was looking for Bruce.
This will probably continue for a few days. Anytime I've had company for an extended visit (more than a day or two), she looks for them for awhile afterward. It's sweet, funny, and sad all at once. I wish I could explain it to her. I wish I could explain a lot of things to her. But I guess she will eventually figure it all out on her own. She's a smart pup.
Bruce, you should feel honored. She only does this because she loves you and probably figured, after a week, that you belong to the house - or(more likely) to her. ;)
I think I speak for all of us (Bruce, Chelsea and myself) when I say that we had a great time over the past week. We didn't do anything terribly special, but it all felt very normal and right. Although it was odd having someone else in the house, it was quite comfortable. I highly recommend Bruce as a houseguest. He doesn't leave wet towels on the floor (a huge sin), cleans most of the whiskers out of the sink (a few don't bother me), helps around the house ("Would you like me to take this down to the basement?"), does all the driving (yaay!), and thinks everything I cook for him is absolutely delicious. What more could I ask for? :)
On top of all that, Bruce built me a lovely entertainment center as his Christmas gift to me. It came out beautifully and is a huge improvement over the mish-mash of racks, stands, and cabinets I was using before. Now it's all in one neat, compact, attractive place:
For anyone who decides to attempt something similar, a few words of advice:
Do get rollers to make the painting easier. The priming coat and the first coat of black were brushed on and took about three times longer than the final, rolled-on coat. The rollers not only make it a quicker job, they create a very smooth, streakless finish.
If you have this much equipment or more, plan on a few hours to take it apart and put it back together. If you have a lot of DVD's and/or tapes to be moved, add at least another hour to your estimate.
When you get the paint, I suggest a flat black latex. We were both very happy with the results. (Bruce will have to tell you if you need one or two quarts. A gallon was too much though, I think.)
Only add the top shelf after (almost) everything has been wired in. Bruce figured this part out and it saved a huge amount of time.
Be sure you know exactly where you want the television set located before you place the shelves. (Another rule from Bruce.) The TV needs to go in the center, as that's where the most support is. If you get it wrong, you'll have to tear it apart and start over. (Not a pleasant prospect, as the shelves are incredibly heavy and difficult to move around.)
Finally - ask Bruce for the parts list. I think it took 27 glass blocks, eight half blocks, and a 4'x8' sheet of MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) cut into four equal pieces. But he and John are the experts. :)
When I woke up Saturday morning, Chelsea was standing in my bedroom, staring at me. She looked terribly bloated and although she seemed to feel alright, I was really worried about her. In addition to the bloat, she hadn't really eaten anything but scraps from our meals for several days. A very big worry, since she's not much more than skin and bones as it is. But I'd wanted to avoid taking her to the vet during Bruce's visit, just in case the news was worse than expected. (If she needed to be put to sleep, I didn't want to put him through it. Even though it would have helped me, it would be more pain for him and he's got enough of that in his life right now.) But when I saw her, I knew it really shouldn't be put off any longer.
So, I called the vet and Dr. Lange told me to bring her in - that they were closing for the holiday at 1pm, but they'd squeeze her in somehow. (This is really a wonderful veterinary service. They've been very caring and kind to us ever since we arrived in Mooville.)
When we arrived, Chelsea didn't want to go in. Poor baby was probably afraid I'd leave her there, since this is where I board her when I'm going to be out of town. Besides, although they are good, loving people, they always do bad things to her in there. Still, Bruce and I managed to coax her into the building and he signed in while I took her over to try and calm her down.
The wait, though long (it was at least an hour), worked out pretty well. Chelsea was interested in the other dogs and people, and didn't even bark once. (Amazing!) She even quietly allowed strangers to pet her. Incredible.
When we finally got in to see the vet, I found out that she's lost almost two pounds since her last visit in July. Not good news, but not surprising either. The vet told me there's really not much more we can do except try to keep her comfortable and to raise her dosage of the diuritic again if she can tolerate it. (The jury's still out on that.) I've also, at his suggestion, switched her to puppy food in an effort to get some weight on her. It has a lot of extra calories, so even if she continues to pick at her food it'll probably help a bit. (She seems to like it, anyway.)
The trip ended up taking about two hours. One hour of waiting for me and Chelsea, and another hour of waiting for Bruce. After they drained her, she perked up quite a bit. Once again, she trots rather than walks. The dripping wasn't as heavy this time around as it was in July, but it continued for longer. I took the latest set of bandages off just this morning, in fact. (I'd tried to do so yesterday, but started finding drippy spots on the carpet in the afternoon. Bleah.)
Anyway, it was obvious that she immediately felt a lot better. Her posture changed and as I said earlier, she started trotting rather than walking everywhere again. I don't know how long this upswing will last, but I am almost certain that I'm unwilling to do this draining thing again. It's too traumatic. But we'll see. At least, as I told Dr. Lange, we made it all the way through 2000. That's something. :)
Finally, a note to the Ferguson clan out in Texas: I'm thinking about and praying for all of you. Please take care of each other and give Sue a very gentle hug and kiss on the cheek from me. I wish I lived closer so I could be of more help. But I am there in spirit.
