As i mentioned in my previous post, (e:LeeTee,40815) my parent's old dog, Ralphie, now has kidney disease. The vet said he should be kept at the animal hospital for a week, but both of my parent's thought it would be too stressful for the spoiled pooch. Personally, i think it was too much for the puppy parents, since they don't treat him like a dog.

So, they brought him home, to have subcutaneous fluid i.v. every twelve hours. My mom continued with her regularly scheduled annual Labour Day weekend trip to Michigan and left my dad with the bulk of the work. Well, with my offer to come help, since i have done this before... with a cat, but i know the drill.

Friday, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i went to Hamilton's West Mountain to hang out with my dad and help him with the i.v. My dad was a basket case at first. Then, while Ralphie was on my dad's lap, we quickly and quietly, almost stealthily (hell, the dog IS old) poked the needle in while my dad was holding/petting him. It went smooth as silk. My dad looked 10 years younger after that; he was so worried and stressed.

Saturday morning, however, Ralph was wise and wouldn't let us jab him with that needle. Which, of course, shook our confidence that we could accomplish what we needed to... i guess all my talk of having calm assertive energy went out the window.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) had to leave, since he had to work at 4pm, and with the way bridge traffic has been, he left by about 10am, so he could rest up, eat and shower before heading into work.

My dad and i went on with the day... trying to think of another method of injecting the fluids into Ralphie without giving my dad a heart attack. We talked a lot. My dad is the emotional one and my mom is the logical one. My dad got the chance to talk out his feelings more than he can with my mom. I thought it was good for him. And very much a bonding experience for my dad and i. The whole day was, really.

We went to visit his mom, my Nana, in the nursing home. Sadly, she is not doing very well. But i have a feeling a lot of what she is feeling is emotional. She has no emotional or mental health support there, which i find disappointing. We even went to the cemetery to visit his dad, my Papa, his sister, my Aunt Val and his brother, my Uncle Tony, something my dad rarely, if ever, does.

While visiting Nana, my dad thought that some tough love was needed. Forget the soft shoe approach, we needed to be more assertive with Ralphie. Somehow, all the talking and releasing of emotions, my dad was able to find his bravery. He found the courage to do what he thought he couldn't do.

That evening, he took Ralphie by the scruff of the neck and held him down, gentle but forcefully, so he was still enough and not turning around to bite me while i poked him in the fleshy part of the shoulder to get the fluids underneath his skin. We had success. Success and a method made easier Sunday morning.

This afternoon, my dad drove me home and stayed for a short visit before heading back out on the road home.

I am proud of my dad. He let go of his selfishness once his emotions were all out and found the courage to do something that scared him so much. I know some of you may think that Ralph is just a dog. And there is part of me that shares the sentiment. He is a dog... and my parents spoil him too much and don't treat him enough like a dog. But my dad loves Ralphie... and never wanted to do something he thought would hurt him physically. Knowing it was best for both of them to do what is right and not what is easy, he stepped up to the plate and got the dead done.

Even though the reason for visit was unpleasant, i am glad i got the time to bond with my dad... in ways i never have before.

Sorry i missed the party. I meant to come. I appreciate the personal invite i got from (e:Paul) and (e:Terry) when i saw you guys at the Elmwood Art Fest. Looks like everyone had a good time. Happy belated birthdays, (e:Terry) and (e:Mike)!

Oh, and a shoutout to (e:Jill) who we (myself, my dad, Ralphie and (e:Uncutsaniflush)) saw walking down Elmwood by Bidwell.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) and i, thanks to the generosity of my parents, are going on a cruise in February. It will be a birthday and xmas gift from them to both of us.

My cousin, Rob, and his bride to be, Karin, decided to forgo the usual rubbery chicken and bad d.j. to get married on a cruise ship, before it leaves on a cruise in the Caribbean. Most of the family is in Canada and are all flying out of Toronto to Miami, but we so do not want to cross the border just to have to go through customs again just to be on the same flight as my parents. Besides, i hate flying and it and to be fraught with hassles these days, particularly in the colder weather.

Today, (e:Uncutsaniflush) had what i think is a brilliant idea. The train! It would take longer than flying. We would travel from Buffalo to New York (8.5 hours) and from New York to Miami (27 hours).

We thought, with such a long trip, that it would be good to get a room... or, as we found out we could get, a Roomette. Small, but at least it would be private. And what better, someone named Leette making reservations for a roomette! tee hee hee.

So, has anyone here ever taken a long train ride and might have any insight, good, bad or indifferent?

And now, the bad news.

My mom emailed us late this afternoon. Their dog, Ralphie, has gone into kidney failure. Poor spoiled puppie... old puppie, but to me, all dogs are puppies. He has to be kept at the vet with an i.v. drip for a while... not sure how long. I think my dad is falling apart over this. I hope he does well, and they can take him home soon. Poor thing has always had anything and everything he has ever wanted, so he is probably stressed out right now... he's never been alone for more than an hour or 2. I hope, too, that my dad can handle having to give him a needle every day... or Subcutaneous Fluid Administration like i did with my friend Mark's cat, Emo.

Taking a shower made this sting like crazy.



(see previous post for explanation)

Today, i went for my second driving lesson. I figured i would need a few lessons -- maybe 3 or 4 -- and a lot of practice. I think i am an ok driver, considering i have been behind the wheel for about 4 hours, total, in my 38 years.

The appointment was 10am. My instructor came to get me and i drove from Bird, right onto Dewitt, right onto Forest and down past Grant, Elmwood and Lincoln Parkway and right onto Windsor. There, i did a pretty decent 3 point turn and an ok parallel park. We decided to do a second parallel without him telling me where to turn the wheel and when. I was a tiny bit too far from the car beside us, but he said we could manage it. I went up onto the curb, darn it. But i think i will get the hang of it.

I must say, i do like the way our little Prius handles better than the driving school car. But i digress....

We decided to drive some more. He said he noticed my right turns are better. Yay (e:Uncutsaniflush) for his help during practices with that!

We made a left onto Forest and then a right onto Elmwood. The instructor and i both noticed the wheel noise was louder. So, up at Amherst, we pulled into the Sunoco. Yep, i flattened the rear right tire. I apologized, and he said it wasn't my fault. No ones, he said, his maybe... it happens. Even the service guy laughed and said it was unfortunate that it had to happen to me on my second lesson! *sigh*

Instructor had to cancel his next appointment, because the guy at the service center said it would take a little while. I didn't see the need to stand around and wait, it was obvious the lesson was over.

Funny thing, though. I did something this morning i rarely do. I didn't have my purse -- that big backpack of a purse i always have with me. I didn't have anything with me! Just my keys to the house, my learner's permit, sunglasses and his fee, which i had already given to him.

He gave me bus fare, so i hopped on a 20 Elmwood bus down to Bird. I got off the bus and since the bus didn't pull over to the curb, i had to hop out of the way of a car that quickly pulled up beside the bus to park. While doing that, i twisted my ankle in a pothole and went, face first into the road. Thank goodness the car was mostly stopped, or he would have run me over. But, i did get a nasty scrape on my knee. It's still a bit black from the asphalt, despite the cleaning i tried to give it. And it burns.

Oh, and i still had about a mile to walk. And, no, i was NOT wearing comfortable walking shoes. So, every bend of my knee felt like skin was ripping and the blood was dripping down my leg. I was an attractive sight.

So, at about Baynes, two guys sitting on their porch start trying to chat me up. Asking me if i am single. WTF? I so rarely get hit on, i can count the times... like, twice. So? What's the deal? Do they think i am one of the many hookers in the area and since i have a scrape on my knee, i will be willing to give a blow job anywhere?!?

So, tomorrow, i have another lesson. One i don't have to pay for since i didn't get the entire lesson today.

Oh... and before i forget. Happy Birthday (e:Terry)!

Oh... and since i started typing this i have been on hold and disconnected from Time Warner 3 times! They say we didn't pay our bill... but we didn't GET a bill to pay!

What a day!!

The Butterfly Conservatory

Sunday

mmm.. nice, lazy day. Made giant sandwiches and had corn on the cob.


Saturday

As (e:Uncutsaniflush,40618) mentioned, we had a very nice day on one of our "mini adventures". I had a good time. It was nice to not have to concern ourselves with when (e:Uncutsaniflush) needed to be back so he could be rested and/or ready for work. We just went, and let our moods take us to where we wanted to go... i love love love doing that!

I took a few pictures... ha ha ha... thank goodness we have an extra memory stick for our camera!

At the Seneca Park Zoo







And, as (e:Uncutsaniflush) mentioned, we also went to St. Joseph's Park in downtown Rochester. I have a few teaser pics i took. I will save the interesting arty ones for a later time.



The front



the back



and a gift left behind inside the park itself




Friday

My friend and former neighbor, Kirsten and i got together. As i mentioned about, oh, 10 weeks ago, (e:LeeTee,39608) and (e:LeeTee,40244) Kirsten's dogs Ava and Nolan got it together and made some babies. Well, Kirsten is giving all the puppies to their new humans this weekend... so we hung out with them and i snapped A LOT of pictures.

Here are a few of Ava, Nolan and as many of the 7 puppies i could take. Damn, they move fast. Sorry for the blurry ones... but sometimes, the picture is just too cute to not post!













OK, this one is only funny to me because as i was eating dinner and trying to pet the puppies but not let them steal my dinner, Nolan was busy trying to make more puppies!



Nolan is so hard to get a good picture of since he is so dark and the flash makes him look all shinny. Here he is, with a leaf or something hanging out of his mouth!

I just applied for a job at the new PetSmart location on Elmwood.

Their online application was interesting. It was more a personality test than anything else, asking if i strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree to questions like "people are annoying".

Since i tend to be way too honest, i hope the fact that i told them i do need to have specific days off in the future isn't an issue.

They have a pretty strict dress code, too, so i think my tattoos will be covered. If i get an interview, i need to make sure my hair covers all my earrings, too. Only one allowed per ear... yipes!

In other employment news, i had dinner with my neighbour last night (mmmm........ Falafel Bar). She has been telling me for years that i would be good working in the same field she works in -- with the developmentally disabled. I'm very interested. She says i need to get my drivers licence first. But that she might take me to work one day, just to understand, exactly, what the job entails. Her recommendation, if i want to pursue it, would be to take a volunteer position until i can write the test that all potential state employees must write. Then, she can hire me....

For all those times i am feeling downtrodden, unloved or just plain blah, i need to remind myself, or have a perma-link in my brain to the great things i have. Simple and complex, i am fortunate.

First and most importantly, i have a husband who loves, respects, cherishes and supports me. That alone makes me very fortunate.

OK, so i don't have a lot of friends. I'm an odd sort; a strange combination of a offbeat awkward weirdo that enjoys boring 50's housewifey things. However, the friends i do have i trust. Completely. And they rock.

I also have more material things that i need. And sometimes, finding more makes a girl happy.

Like shoes! What girl doesn't just adore a new pair of shoes?! OK, so my version of shoes aren't so girly. But they are cute and i love them and they were a bargain (the Marshals on Delaware for $19.99 a pair!).

I'm looking for a place to practice driving. Somewhere that doesn't have a lot of busy traffic (yeah, Elmwood on the strip isn't an option -- YET!), maybe some light traffic, open spaces and perhaps a parking lot. Anyone know of such a place?

I think we are going to take (e:Theecarey,40396)'s advice -- a trip to Lewiston's Art Festival is on tap for the day. And yesterday afternoon, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i were at Albright Knox . And the day before we were at The Casellani Art Museum

I think i need to get my arse up to my studio... seeing is NOT doing!