Somebody's coming!

My younger son T is almost here, having driven from Phoenix in a day and a half (takes me two-and-a-half days). He's starting a new phase in his life, graduate student life at U of O in Eugene, in September. Rah! I'm proud.

I took Charly to the vet for middling concerns (incomplete mention in previous post). (1) Seems like stools are too often too soft. Vet digs into her ass for poop with a long, skinny spoon. Stool test phase 1: positive for Giardia. Powder on food daily for 5 days. It's all that shared water in dog park, not to mention the puddles. More results in about a week for tests that take longer. (2) Why always yellowish eye-goober balls & off/on red lower eye membranes? Yellow or green means bacterial infection. Eye drops (antibacterial) twice daily. (3) About to leave, vet says "Oh! What's this under her neck? Staph infection." Wha...? I hadn't even noticed the pink spots, which are partly hidden by her collar, and of course how often do I peer under her neck? This also blamed on dog park. Washing, & ointment twice daily for 10 days. It's already much better after two days treatment.

Yoga update. After Julie's help in last Thursday's class, I tried headstand on my own at home Sunday, along with an hour of other poses. Voila! No problem at all getting up. Of course, Terry was anticipating a flop like last week, so he was ultra-careful, poised on all sides to break my fall. I surprised him. He said that I'm well on my way with headstand. Yes, of course I am.

T is here! A week from today, I'll be off on a car trip of my own. I'm glad he'll be here so I don't have to worry about somebody breaking in while I'm gone. Meantime, we can enjoy a week of each other's company.

Doggone bone!

Charly has gained nearly 10 lbs in the past four months, weighing now 62 lbs. That's quite enough growing, thank you! The vet says she's just right, ribs not visible but easily felt when touched. She eats grass and trims the neighbors' shrubs through the fence, which isn't that good for her, but she lives. And I must be feeding & exercising her properly, so I can quit fretting over grain/nograin, etc. I'll stick with kibble that gets its fiber from veggies, not grain, and a dollop of canned something on top for flavor, and raw bones with scraps of flesh on them for occasional excitement. Here she is with her latest -- lamb femur, fresh-frozen -- YUM. The routine is to chew on it a while, then bury it, then dig it up and "please can I bring it into the house?" At which point, loyal dog servant that I am, I sigh and wash it off, give it back to her, and within 15 minutes she wants to take it outside again, at which point I give in, let her out, and don't let her bring it inside again. Right now, she's whining at the back door with the bone in her mouth, confident I'll give in. No...

It's dicey going to dog park these days, as the weather switches frantically from sun to rain to sun to rain. Yesterday we got caught in a downpour on the way home on foot, windy too, Charly, wild-eyed, begging for shelter, eyeing my raincoat.

Level 2 Iyengar yoga is definitely more challenging than level 1. I come home drained and have the most impressive gigantic poops the next day. Lots of twists, sitting on feet, inversions, hip/thigh rotations. I'm going twice a week to two different instructors, one (Julie) who is relentlessly positive, encouraging, helpful, and the other (Terry) who cannot holdback little sighs of frustration as I demonstrate my sorry attempts at headstand and handstand, hinting (I cannot help but imagine) that maybe I shouldn't be in level 2 yet. Since the helpful one is the 30-year owner of the studio and has the most experience, I think I'll trust her assessment more (and will surely improve enough for the other instructor to relax). I probably didn't do this right. First, I did a makeup for a missed class in Julie's level 2. After, she approached me after class and encouraged me to move on up. I did so when the next sequence of classes started, also signing up for Terry's level 2 but without talking to him first. I had enjoyed his teaching style & his personality in a level 1-2 class, designed to let those who are uncertain see what it's like to move up. I should have consulted him first. Instead I just trusted Julie's approval and went for it, assuming they'd all be on the same page. Awkward. But hey, if it keeps feeling awkward, I'll just switch to one of Julie's other level 2 classes in place of Terry's. I like to sample different instructors, but maybe this time it's better to stick with one.

New grandbaby, Iris Ann!

The beautiful Iris Ann arrived April 5th! I swiped these pics from her facebook page. So far I haven't managed to take any pictures myself. I'm too busy a'lookin' and a'grinnin'. I'd almost forgotten what a wee baby-grub feels like in the arms.

In two weeks, she gained an inch in length and a pound. Man, what a wild head of hair. When she's awake & looking all around, it's so exciting imagining her experience, her transition from spaceship mama into the world of light and touch and sound and smell. I look forward to many years watching Iris and Henry grow up together. Jason & Leanne make such beautiful babies!

 

A taste of summer

It's weird how the seasons progress in Portland. The daily temperatures creep along (40's, 50's, high 50's), then BOOM, 80's! That lasted two days. Blazing sunshine, shorts, sunglasses, a mad dash to the coast for a three-hour beach walk at the north end of Cape Meares (maybe 4-5 miles) with Charly doing it several times over in circles. Today, back to clouds, drizzle, and hi-50's/low-60's again expected to last the week. Oh! I see a sun picture for next Monday on the week's forecast. Can't count on it staying that way though.

I don't usually go to the coast on the weekend, and as expected the beach was more peopled than I like. Even so, it's less crowded than most other places, allowing me to let Charly run again and again, between leash-ups. Finally we met a couple with a dog and no kiddos who were happy to let their young springer spaniel play with Charly. Mostly, though, she gets her thrills running full speed in all directions, chasing birds, cavorting in sand, and chasing everything blown by the wind. Crazy how good it makes me feel to watch her blazing around. Pure, unadulterated joy.

There's always something special to play with. Last time, it was a sponge. This time a tennis ball, and OMG what an amazing treasure -- a plastic gas can!

This time I carried some water and discouraged her from drinking seawater. Only two spurting diarrhea episodes, better than our last trip. I was startled to notice that I went three hours without a pee. Ah, so convenient. Visit Safeway bathroom in Tillamook coming & going, no trips up the dune.

Dragging myself back

Aah, here I am, back again to rebuild the habit of writing here. Somebody misses me! Awww. :)  Let's just say I'm emerging from hibernation. Spring is coming. The rain is warming a bit. I'm appropriately grumpy, still feeling the effects of a fall last Saturday while hiking the Salmon River Trail with Charly. I tried, and failed, to cross a small but rushing rivulet balancing on rocks. The crash was so sudden that when I instinctively broke my fall by catching myself with one hand on a rock, the sly rock practically broke my pinky by spreading it away from my ring finger, which persuaded me to go ahead and fall on my ass, the half roll smacking my head and bending my glasses. I'm left with a very sore hand at the pinky knuckle and a mild headache, but no serious injury. That was almost a week ago. The swelling has gone down, but the knuckle is still very touchy, not helped by Charly stepping on it when she joined me on the sofa tonight. The upside is I can still do yoga, though I skipped Monday's class. Thursday's class was okay. I'd practiced at home Tuesday and Wednesday to see if I could, and it felt so good I'm resolved to finally, after over a year of Iyengar classes, do it regularly at home as well. Level 2 is more challenging and more satisfying, plus I learned a pose that just might help my knees. Must do it daily.

It's late. Gotta push Charly over and get some sleep.  I'll be back.

Feeling heroic

Yesterday concluded my second week of the winter quarter's yoga classes. I've switched from two evening classes a week to one evening and one mid-morning class a week. I'm feeling heroic because I've actually made it to my 10 am yoga class two weeks in a row. Remember, I normally am barely out of bed yet at that hour and need a couple of hours to drink three cups of coffee, eat something, feed Charly, forget everybody's pills until noon at least, and then decide what to do that day. In class at 10 am, I feel like a statue that's in the early stages of coming to life, blinking, moving awkwardly, testing. Balancing poses are a cruel joke. Ardha chandrasana at 10:30 am? You have to be kidding! No? As for eating at least two hours before class... Well, I ate a banana on the way in the car. I was fine. Burp.

Oregon and Washington are drowning, washing away in spots. I can't recall the last time I saw the sun & am grateful to live atop a hill.

Here's Charly posing with her shoe. Yes, HER shoe, not mine. She knows the difference. She loves to stuff her nose inside, inhaling deeply over and over. I expect one day to be out walking her and see her leap upon the shoe's former owner who donated it to GoodWill. (Wait, she does that to everybody.) 

One of these days I'll have to learn how to arise at 6 am so that I can cope with grandson Henry spending the night. We are starting with him staying here a couple of hours this Saturday, progressing to overnights, and then him moving in for a few days when his new sister arrives. It will be weird and fun, possibly stressful at first, for both of us, adapting.

Doggy day care rocks!

Charly is spending a few hours with somebody besides me. Now I'm at home marveling in the peaceful solitude that has become so rare. I can practice on the whistle to my heart's content without distraction. However, I've spent the first part of my vacation watching Charly on the Dogs Dig It webcam. I am surprised there's not more running around playing. No, everybody's strolling around so calmly I'm a bit disappointed. Oh well. Practice!

"Whooooo-whoooooo!"

I woke up extra early this morning (three alarms set at 7:30, 7:45, and 8:00 am) so I could feed Charly, let her out, shower, maybe even nibble something, kennel Charly and leave by 9:00 am to get to J's house by 9:30. It was 29 F ('ing)! I almost called to say maybe it's too cold to be walking around outside at Saturday Market downtown and then go to see the steam engine (Oregon Pacific Railroad) puff and roar and toot, carrying a load of people up and down a small section of track. Henry is train obsessed, and his face said "Awesome!!!" I'm glad I soldiered up and wore many layers and didn't complain. It was fun, and I really have to stop being such a wuss about cold weather. It's perfect weather, i.e. NOT RAINING.