The Hot Streak Continues

The heat continues. We're on our way to break the record of days above 90 degrees. Aren't we lucky? I spend most of my time indoors except to walk Jack in the morning.

We're getting our carpets cleaned today. So I moved everything out of my bedroom and the living room last night. It was a fair amount of work. I wish I could do without many of the things that I moved out of my bedroom -- my room looks so large with it cleaned out.

I gave my notice at work yesterday. They worked to keep me, but I don't really want to be kept, of course. Of course, at the other end, Michael got some push-back on my hourly fee and so we're not sure how that will turn out exactly. I guess I don't really care -- I'd like some time off prior to starting up again, so if it puts it off a few weeks, I'll be okay with that. Dad would like to go somewhere, so perhaps we could drive off somewhere with Jack -- or we could put him in a kennel, I guess. Michael talked of doing other work if this didn't go too long or if there were other issues. That would be okay by me, too.

It's interesting how when I want to get away from something -- a job, a person, etc. -- and then it comes to doing it, it is always more difficult than I'd like. And it gives me such ambiguous feelings -- perhaps I should have stayed? Perhaps I'll never find another job/person/etc. to take the other's place. These days it doesn't help that Dad wants to give me advice -- his advice -- which is almost always to take the safe path -- stay with the job until there is 100% chance of something else, etc. I told him to keep it to himself'; that I was going to do what I was going to do. He tries and he wants the best for me, but it's difficult to still have your dad telling you what to do with your life. At some point you'd think that they'd leave you alone -- however, even I am laughing as I say that. How can your parents ever leave you alone? I have a hard time leaving my siblings and nieces and nephews alone -- they all need the benefit of my wisdom. So let me laugh a little...

Just so that there's a picture in this post, I'll put up another picture of Jack from day care on Saturday.

The Boys Are Off

The boys are leaving! Jessie (Andy's friend) leaves this afternoon (after going to work, he'll go straight to his aunt's when he gets out) and Andy leaves tomorrow morning, early. The house is going to be quiet, but it's nice to get the house and our lives back. It's interesting how difficult it is to actually change your habits and to live with other's habits and lifestyles. It's scary just how rigid I am these days. But I'm also tired of how the boys are so often clueless as to how to live with others in a comfortable, polite way. I'm also a bit afraid as to what I'm going to find in the bedrooms and the bath when they are gone -- they certainly are not the clean/neat-freaks that Stuart and his friends were. But we'll see.

Dad got news earlier this week that the tissue was not malignant. That's great! We don't know if it is pre-whatever so whether he'll still need to have treatment, but it's great that it's not already cancer. I think Dad is very relieved as am I.

Jack's agility class is over. He really enjoyed it. They are thinking of having drop-in classes for the puppys (under 1 year) to work out on until they are old enough for the next real agility class (they have to be 1 year). I'd do that occasionally. We took Dad with us to watch and worked out hard at the beginning. Of course, when it came to really doing it for the test, Jack balked at the chute. Seeing as he was the first puppy through it when they learned about it and he always thought it was a fun thing to do, it was apparent he was avoiding it just because he was bored with the whole thing. Oh well , he did everything else perfectly well. But boy, does he always look forward with the other puppys at the end of the session.

Jack spent the day at Doggy Day Care again on Saturday. I think he really enjoys it, but he does like to go home, too. Here's a picture that they took of him in what they said was "a rare still moment". That would be true -- he never seems to be still but when he's sleeping.

It remains hot -- the high temperature is staying over 90+ and the nights aren't getting cool enough. I am hoping that it all ends soon -- and July is almost over, so it should start cooling in the second week or so of August.

My niece, Grace, is off at horse camp at Camp Tippecanoe -- Sara and I went there when we were kids. Its in a slightly different type of camp than what we went. I think it's called Horse Lovers or something and is for girls 7 - 12 and they ride only 1/2 day and do other camping activities the other 1/2 day. The level Sara and I went to was for the 13 - 16 kids and was a full day with the horses. It was great. I do hope Grace is enjoying it. Douglas and his family picks her up tomorrow late afternoon -- the "rodeo" is at 5:00 pm. I'm hoping that they take the video recorder and send us film.

Picking Up Dad

Today I picked up dad from the hospital. Well, actually, I picked him up somewhere on I-25 as Stuart brought him down part way (to Johnson's Corner: http://www.johnsonscorner.com/). Dad and I picked up a cinnamon roll. Although they may be "world famous" they sure aren't as good as the cinnamon rolls at Miami University - Oxford, OH, where I went to undergrad school. (Here's the recipe -- http://www.miamialum.org/pages/FunStuff-ToastedRolls.htm -- although I'm not sure that even the ones you could make are as good as the ones that they had. Nostalgia always tastes better.)

We found out more about Dad -- the doctor thought the cancer spots looked "suspicious", so he scraped them out and took what else he thought should come and then closed up, leaving the other part of the surgery undone. That was why it went so fast, taking .5 hour rather than 1.5 hours. It sounds like they'll end up doing what they did 5 years ago -- it was a relatively easy weekly treatment, nothing like having chemo. I do hope it all works out like it did last time, only better (like it really takes).

I left Jack alone in the house (alone being a relative term -- Jessie, Andy's friend, was here, but was in his room and so was as good as not being here) for 2+ hours while I picked up dad and we went and bought some groceries. He did well. He only got into my trash in my bathroom and Andy's trash (Andy left his door open -- thank goodness Jack didn't chew up the underwear and socks on the floor). Not bad for Jack. He's getting more trust-worthy all the time.

The pictures are Jack at 3 months and at 7 months (this month a couple of days ago). I'll add a picture of Jack with his coat clipped as soon as I get it taken.)

Hospital Day and Doggie Day Care

I'm sitting at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado waiting for my dad to wake up. He just underwent surgery for a biopsy because there's a recurrance of a cancer that he originally had about 5 years ago. The surgery was to take somewhere around 1.5 hours, but was finished in 1/2 hour instead. That can be good or bad news, but in this case, it appears like it was good news. I say appears as we missed the doctor as we (my brother, Stuart, and I) went to have lunch and took our time coming back -- and we didn't let the front desk know that we were in the cafeteria. Dad's not going to be happy with us. I'd imagine that the doctor would have left a message or that we'd get some news other than "it went well" if there was something more we should be worried about. We probably won't get the results of the biopsy until Thursday, however.

Because I was going to be spending time up here today, I put Jack into doggie day care at Divine Canine -- http://www.divinecanine.net/index.php). I took him about 7:00 this morning and dropped him off -- he was so interested and excited that he didn't even see me leave. I'll pick him up when I get home, so he should have a long, tiring day. Today's also his obedience class -- he should be great there!

Andy and I had a disagreement last night about his brothers. I think he's being too hard on one of his brothers while letting the other get away with things. I probably said too much and should have just kept my mouth shut. Instead when he said that Alex should worry about Daniel's sensitivity, I blew up as I'm tired of having to deal with sibling sensitivity myself. Like I said, I should have just kept my mouth shut (although what I said, I did mean -- I just don't want it to get back to others and it probably will -- sigh...)

The other day it was cool and beautiful. It's back up to hot again (95 F) and I'm missing the cool.

Hot, hot, hot

It is hot, hot, hot. Yesterday was 98 F. Today's supposed to be "cooler" -- only 95. We'll see. And somehow I don't think 95 is really that much cooler. I don't do well in the heat.

I'm not sure that Jack does either. He's seemed to move backwards in training over the past couple of days. That may be because the heat, or at least a consequence of the heat -- I'm not taking him out to the dog park or for an extra walk in the afternoon as it is too hot. So, he wants to play and, in his mind, that entails jumping up on me, bothering Simba, or grabbing things that he shouldn't have to grab my attention. So, the heat gets me and then Jack pushes.

And then, there are the boys...

My sister's eldest, Andy is staying at our house this summer while he takes some classes. His best friend from grade school is also here. I think that they are doing really well overall as 20 year-olds go, however, it's very difficult for both Dad and I to deal with the additional people in the house. They eat everything, don't do anything to help out, and leave their things around. I go down to eat something and it's gone. I want to sit on my couch and watch TV, and they are there. However, it's only 2 more weeks and they'll be gone. Thank goodness for short sessions during the summer.

Boy, aren't I in a great mood? No more being the wonderful aunt or dog owner...

Dad comes home from Wooster today. He's been back visiting with Douglas (my brother) and his family and to be in the Wooster 4th of July Parade. The Wooster Clinic (purchased by the Cleveland Clinic some years ago) had a float. Only the "old guys" were on it -- those doctors who helped start the clinic many years ago. Dad and Mom moved to Wooster to be closer to Mom's parents and for Dad to work at the clinic back in 1950 or so. Dad's in the middle front of the float. Also on the float were Mo Dixon, Frank Cebul, Berney Huff, Tom Graves, and others. This is the first time Dad was back in Wooster for a number of years; the last time he went, he went with Mom. I don't think he's wanted to go back, afraid of how he will feel without her there. Of course, he enjoyed it tremendously and everyone planned multiple events to get together with him. And I'm glad he had time with Douglas and his family.

I fixed my toilet yesterday! How great was that! Such a small thing, but the last time I tried doing it, I messed it up. This time, bing-bang-boom -- it was done. Okay, not that easy -- I had to keep buying parts as I kept buying the wrong part. But finally, it was done and it works and I'm pleased I got it done. So, there's one up-tick in my mood.

My First Post - A Little About Me

I'm not sure why I'm doing this as I really don't care if any one else reads it and I'm not sure how well I'll keep it up. But it might be a good thing to get with the program and use some of these tools that others are using. So as a test, I'll start this blog.

I'm a pretty ordinary fifty-something year-old woman who lives in beautiful Boulder County in Colorado. I moved to Colorado in 1978 after wanting to live here all my life -- we spent vacations here every year while I was growing up and my parents built a retirement home in Estes Park. I have no real desire to live any where else. Except, perhaps, somewhere in Great Britain for several years or part of every year. But this would have to be home base.

View from home in Estes Park

My parents moved in with me and my dog, Max, in 1998 as my mom was having difficulties breathing at 8500 feet. Several years ago, we got a kitten to add to the family group. Mom died two years ago, and I miss her lots. Always will. My dad is still going strong at 90. Interesting living with your parents again when you are older. Everyone wants to be the one in charge; and the dynamics are so different from when you were a kid. Everyone seems to whip from being the parent, then the child, and then back again. Perhaps I should put that the other way as I think we all end up being in the child stage more often than in the parent stage.

Recently we got a puppy. My old dog, Max (in the picture with my mom and our cat Simba), died about a year and one-half ago. He was a perfect dog and is still missed greatly. I did want a new dog, but thought I'd get one from the humane society -- that's where Max came from and it's a good place to find animals who need a new home. My dad, however, wanted a puppy to ensure we were instrumental in bringing him up the way we wanted him. Basically he said that he didn't want to inherit other people's problems. I reminded him of Max. He said that Max was unusual. I let him talk me into it. Silly me. Puppies are very difficult as well as being cute.

I do love our puppy, Jack (this is him at graduation from Puppy Training with me and my dad). He's an Australian Labradoodle -- or at least is father is. His mother is a multigeneration American Labradoodle. We found him at Cheyenne Valley Labradoodles in Texas. I was doing research into the breed and found a breeder who was certified with an area code in Colorado. Unfortunately, they had moved to Dallas, but we got talking and found that she knew my sister from Pueblo, Colorado. I liked our communication and what she had to say about her dogs and we purchased Jack from them.

He's a happy dog and he pretty much loves everyone and everything -- including our cat, Simba. I'm looking forward to him getting a bit older and out of the puppy and adolescent stages. He's doing well in training, so far, although he always seems to be a lot better in front of the trainer than he is on his own at home. And he also likes the puppy agility class better than obedience class. He has very little fear of the different apperatus (except, he's not sure of the seesaw yet).

I'm a consultant with most of my experience in the world of knowledge management. Over the last few years, I've also worked in the world of state government in helping strategize and implement health care systems and a DSS for a child support system.

For fun, I like to read and to garden. And I love to travel, but I haven't had a lot of time to do that the past few years with all of the stuff going on in my life. However, I was lucky enough to have one of my jobs be in Hawaii -- that was almost like having vacations over the weekends.

I guess on this blog I'll end up talking about myself, my family (including what it's like to live with parents as a gownup and how it is watching them age and needing to help them more), growing a puppy, and my desire to travel. Perhaps work will come up, too, but I'm not sure just how much that will happen.

Today-July 9, 2008

The beginning of this blog