Doggie update

Song of the day: “My favorite things” by Julie Andrews. Yes, I am able to do Julie Andrews again. Guess to stop smoking DOES have SOME advantages. Hah. But seriously, sometimes I’m amazed at how the brain is able to remember obscure lyrics from movies that you watched a millions times when you were a kid. *sigh* Guess I get to file that under useless information too, huh?

Yesterday I had some classics going through my brain, including Jackie Wilson with Reet Peteet, which is an absolutely hilarious song.

Right. The past couple of days. Well, yesterday was grocery shopping day. Much to our regret we didn’t make it to week four this month, which is a total biatch all things considered. On the other hand, now it’s over and done with again for (hopefully) another months, so YAY!

So yeah. Yesterday started early because we had to bring Chamea to the vet. She got spaded, and they took out part of her left-side milk gland. I saw both her ovaries and the strangely mottle growth that was removed and...well, I was properly grossed out. *sigh* Seriously, there is something distinctly uncomfortable about seeing flesh with a small puddle of blood around it, lying on a stainless steel dish. Yuck.

But anyway, turns out (not surprisingly) that Chamea (Irish Setter) is a very sensitive dog, meaning that she can’t handle the pain as well as, for instance, labradors, who stoically continue on with life as usual after an operation. Nope. Poor thing has to be doped up with a hundred milligrams of rimadyl, part anti-inflammatory, part pain killer. She’ll be on that for the next five days, probably.

Amri...is not doing too well. His swelling has been increasing for the past couple of days and by now (regardless of the medication) his face is almost twice the normal size. Seriously, if it gets any bigger I’m going to bring him to the vet again, because already he is starting to have difficulty drinking. Strangely enough his mood is not all that bad.

We did ask about Kenneth, and her having a growth in her glands as well. There is of course the option of having it removed, but on the other hand, what with her being blind and her abilities tenuous at best, we don’t think she would manage an operation. Seriously, coming out of anesthesias, in a strange place, with nothing familiar there, it just might break her.

After doing groceries in record time yesterday (4 hours and a half...seriously, I was astounded...for six stores) we barely had time to have a quick meal before we had to head out again to pick Chamea up. She wasn’t happy about the situation, but at least she was happy to see big brother. She couldn’t get out of the hospital fast enough, I know that much.

Afterwards I tried to do some writing during the course of the evening, but after reading through the query letter again, and then the synopsis for DITGW, I was seriously wiped out for the day and decided to go to bed at one for a change. I think I’m getting too young for this shaite, Hah.

But anyway, after all that running back and forth yesterday, today was wonderfully relaxing.
Since we have been slacking with the wall a lot this past week or so, we decided to use the cloudy weather to its best advantage, and went down for some masonry.

Since grandpa first had to mix cement (he insists on this particular task) I could spent about fifteen minutes in the greenhouse to sow broccoli and more herbs. Since my drying cupboard is as good as done, I decided to go for more thyme, basil, parsley, chives and marjoram. Not too much, just a few more to plant in various spots of the yard where I can harvest them for drying.

Then, cement mixed, I could get started on the wall. Got quite a bit done, too (managed to get a 1 foot by 4 feet, by 7 inches rock in at a height of 5’ 10” at least. It took some effort, and it took three of us to get it there, but boy does it look great. Hah. The stairs are coming nicely. Five steps in one direction, three in the other, meaning that it is starting to look really interesting over there.

After that bit...we added a good 5 by 5 feet to the entirety of the wall...it was time for lunch. Opted for a lentil paste with fresh veggies from the yard. Tomatoes, zucchini, red cabbage, onion, garlic, with two pots of lentils, a can of sweet corn and a pot of mushrooms. All in all it was a colorful little mix, not to mention tasty due to the handful of garden herbs that made the whole absolutely delicious and healthy.

After lunch, which was served with whey pancakes, it was time to head down into the yard. Managed to water the upper terraces with the basin, which took me about three hours, meaning that tomorrow we’ll have to water the lower terraces as well. That basin is worth it’s weight in gold, so to speak. We barely used any tap water so far. Sure, we won’t be able to keep it going all through the summer, but it will save some money at least.

Writing wise there is very little news. In particular because I had no time, nor the inclination to write last night, meaning that I barely added half a page, darn it. Let’s hope I get some down today.