I drove on some of Wisconsin's lovely state highways yesterday. On two separate roads, I had to slow down and move over because one entire lane of the highway was covered with high water. The amazing amount of snow we got this winter, plus the hard rain we received at the end of last week and this week, has definitely had an impact.
The good side of this is that a local spring, after being dry for decades, has started flowing with water again. Back in the early 1900s, a lovely park surrounded this natural spring. People picnicked and children used the cool spring water to make lemonade (or so my local newspaper alleges). But, so many years ago that no one can remember exactly when, the spring went dry, victim of the excessive groundwater pumping to supply the city of Madison.
But now it's back. No one knows how long it will flow. I think Mother Nature has a plan and I hope humans don't screw things up so much that she can't win. I think springs are kind of magical, and so is the return of this one is an awesome thing. I'd just like Mother to keep things off the highways.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Patient update
I haven't written about how Simon is doing lately. He's doing remarkably well. We've been very lucky.
Tuesday afternoon, Greg took him back to our vet and she removed his splint. He was pretty cautious with his leg at first but over the last few days, he's started using his leg more and more. He's running a little and going up and down stairs and even jumping some. I think he's really going to be OK. And all it cost us is--well, actually we still don't know how much it's going to cost us because our vet hasn't billed us yet. But it's just two office visits, X-rays, and the splint. And pain medication. That shouldn't be more than $300, right?
I'm waiting to see if he decides to jump over to the plant shelf again. And by the way, did I mention that Rabies occasionally jumps across too? I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
JULIA LEE
Julia and Allie just came upstairs to get ready for bed and little Miss Lee typed her name by herself (with just some help on the double e). Some day, she's going for the world speed typing record. Today, not so much.
Tuesday afternoon, Greg took him back to our vet and she removed his splint. He was pretty cautious with his leg at first but over the last few days, he's started using his leg more and more. He's running a little and going up and down stairs and even jumping some. I think he's really going to be OK. And all it cost us is--well, actually we still don't know how much it's going to cost us because our vet hasn't billed us yet. But it's just two office visits, X-rays, and the splint. And pain medication. That shouldn't be more than $300, right?I'm waiting to see if he decides to jump over to the plant shelf again. And by the way, did I mention that Rabies occasionally jumps across too? I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
JULIA LEE
Julia and Allie just came upstairs to get ready for bed and little Miss Lee typed her name by herself (with just some help on the double e). Some day, she's going for the world speed typing record. Today, not so much.
How does this make me tired
Yesterday, I went to an all-day seminar in Milwaukee. It was almost a 12-hour day. I drove for about two hours, I sat through introductory remarks, I attended two breakout sessions, I ate more for lunch than I've eaten for lunch in months, I attended two more breakout sessions, and I drove for about two hours. I was sitting for almost the entire day.
Yes, I recognize that I sit for almost the entire day every day, but this seemed a lot different. Normally, I get up and walk around between tasks. I deliver documents, prepare mail, fax things, consult with people in their offices. But this was a lot of sitting. I felt very tired when I got home. I definitely didn't feel like doing anything physical.
So, like I have for 15 weeks now, I dragged my sorry butt down into the basement and walked on the treadmill. Yep, me. I've been exercising (however minimally, really) at least every other day for at least 1/2 hour for 15 whole weeks. That means I've been walking since two weeks before we went to Disney, since I was trying to prepare somewhat for all the walking we did on that trip.
Disney seems forever ago, unfortunately. But hopefully this minor legacy of activity will continue forever-- we'll see.
Yes, I recognize that I sit for almost the entire day every day, but this seemed a lot different. Normally, I get up and walk around between tasks. I deliver documents, prepare mail, fax things, consult with people in their offices. But this was a lot of sitting. I felt very tired when I got home. I definitely didn't feel like doing anything physical.
So, like I have for 15 weeks now, I dragged my sorry butt down into the basement and walked on the treadmill. Yep, me. I've been exercising (however minimally, really) at least every other day for at least 1/2 hour for 15 whole weeks. That means I've been walking since two weeks before we went to Disney, since I was trying to prepare somewhat for all the walking we did on that trip.
Disney seems forever ago, unfortunately. But hopefully this minor legacy of activity will continue forever-- we'll see.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Teach me sadness
Allie has fallen a little in love with each of her three grade school teachers. She said that Mrs. Grady, her kindergarten teacher, is her absolute favorite of the three. Mrs. Richard, her current teacher, is her second favorite. And, only because there are but three places to be had, Mrs. Mace is her third favorite.
Sadly, Allie's school year with Mrs. Richard is going to be cut short tomorrow. Her teacher needs heart surgery and she won't recover in time to return to the classroom this year. To say that Allie is crushed by this news is an understatement. At random times, she starts crying because she thinks about Mrs. Richard.
She's a sensitive child anyway (except when it comes to squishing bugs), so this is really hard for her. We keep telling her that crying isn't going to change the situation and that crying is just going to give her sore eyes and a stuffy nose and that crying in front of Mrs. Richard is just going to make it harder for Mrs. Richard. But she can't help it. She's sad.
I'm sad too.
Sadly, Allie's school year with Mrs. Richard is going to be cut short tomorrow. Her teacher needs heart surgery and she won't recover in time to return to the classroom this year. To say that Allie is crushed by this news is an understatement. At random times, she starts crying because she thinks about Mrs. Richard.
She's a sensitive child anyway (except when it comes to squishing bugs), so this is really hard for her. We keep telling her that crying isn't going to change the situation and that crying is just going to give her sore eyes and a stuffy nose and that crying in front of Mrs. Richard is just going to make it harder for Mrs. Richard. But she can't help it. She's sad.
I'm sad too.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Oh so soft
I am such a wimp. It's a beautiful day here today, so Greg and I decided it was time to tackle raking the yard. We've lived in this house for ten springs now and Greg power raked the yard once in all of that time. We had never raked the yard by hand.
How is that possible, you may ask? Well, since our subdivision is pretty new, there aren't many trees. We have one big tree in the corner of our lot and we're glad to have it, but the rest of the yard is relatively bare of greenery (though it's growing in now). We do get lots of leaves blown in from other yards in autumn, but we've found over the years that if you just leave things, the leaves will blow along to other yards. And our house was new when we moved in, so we were the ones who established the lawn.
This was an amazingly snowy winter, and the grass really looked beat down when the snow finally melted. It was clear that we would need to get some of the dead grass out of the lawn, especially since we have a mulching mower. So this morning, despite the fact that Greg feels like death-warmed-over, we started to rake the front yard.
I was outside for about 10 minutes when Greg brought me a pair of work gloves. I was outside for about 20 minutes when I found that even with gloves on, I'd peeled off a piece of skin on my right thumb. It stung. My hands are that delicate and insubstantial that I couldn't even handle raking for half an hour. I felt better when Greg showed me that he'd peeled off a piece of skin in the exact same spot on his left hand.
My grandfather farmer would be so ashamed.
How is that possible, you may ask? Well, since our subdivision is pretty new, there aren't many trees. We have one big tree in the corner of our lot and we're glad to have it, but the rest of the yard is relatively bare of greenery (though it's growing in now). We do get lots of leaves blown in from other yards in autumn, but we've found over the years that if you just leave things, the leaves will blow along to other yards. And our house was new when we moved in, so we were the ones who established the lawn.
This was an amazingly snowy winter, and the grass really looked beat down when the snow finally melted. It was clear that we would need to get some of the dead grass out of the lawn, especially since we have a mulching mower. So this morning, despite the fact that Greg feels like death-warmed-over, we started to rake the front yard.
I was outside for about 10 minutes when Greg brought me a pair of work gloves. I was outside for about 20 minutes when I found that even with gloves on, I'd peeled off a piece of skin on my right thumb. It stung. My hands are that delicate and insubstantial that I couldn't even handle raking for half an hour. I felt better when Greg showed me that he'd peeled off a piece of skin in the exact same spot on his left hand.
My grandfather farmer would be so ashamed.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Simon Lee, Patient
Well, it looks like it won't be $2000. Maybe $750? We don't know. What we do know is that Simon's metatarsals aren't broken, none of them. What we don't know is why his foot is so "floppy," as our vet puts it. She suspects that the tendon or tendons on his leg either got horribly stretched or they've detached themselves from his leg muscle. If they're detached, he's still going to need surgery.
The vet doesn't know how much that type of surgery would cost and the surgeon was too busy to come to the phone. I have to think though that it would be less than $2000, since there isn't the delicate pins and wiring reconstruction. It would just be some stitches, right? I know, I'm dreaming.
So far, we're in for about $300. Greg is going to take Simon to see the surgeon on Monday afternoon and we'll know more then.
We made a bedroom for Simon, complete with clean litterbox and food and water, in the first floor bathroom last night. He ate all of his food and drank some water (and spilled the rest, standard operating procedure). When I opened the door this morning, he immediately stood up and starting rubbing his whole body against me to be petted. He's walking around some, mostly hopping on three legs but he does use his bad leg for balance. He's definitely touching it to the floor and I can't think he'd be doing that much unless it felt relatively OK.
Of course, it's wrapped very tightly and despite his obviously dedicated work, he hasn't succeeded in getting much of the tape off. It must itch too, because he's got teeth marks in the wrapping on his actual paw pad. I think what annoys him most is that we put up the baby gate to keep him from going upstairs. Who knew that thing would come in handy again.
Meanwhile, Allie still has pinkeye and Greg also caught Julia's cold from last weekend. He's coughing and stuffed up and complaining. I'm the only one in the house who's healthy. What about Rabies, you may ask? Rabies is busy being freaked out that his brother won't play. I think it's going to be a quiet weekend.
The vet doesn't know how much that type of surgery would cost and the surgeon was too busy to come to the phone. I have to think though that it would be less than $2000, since there isn't the delicate pins and wiring reconstruction. It would just be some stitches, right? I know, I'm dreaming.
So far, we're in for about $300. Greg is going to take Simon to see the surgeon on Monday afternoon and we'll know more then.
We made a bedroom for Simon, complete with clean litterbox and food and water, in the first floor bathroom last night. He ate all of his food and drank some water (and spilled the rest, standard operating procedure). When I opened the door this morning, he immediately stood up and starting rubbing his whole body against me to be petted. He's walking around some, mostly hopping on three legs but he does use his bad leg for balance. He's definitely touching it to the floor and I can't think he'd be doing that much unless it felt relatively OK.
Of course, it's wrapped very tightly and despite his obviously dedicated work, he hasn't succeeded in getting much of the tape off. It must itch too, because he's got teeth marks in the wrapping on his actual paw pad. I think what annoys him most is that we put up the baby gate to keep him from going upstairs. Who knew that thing would come in handy again.
Meanwhile, Allie still has pinkeye and Greg also caught Julia's cold from last weekend. He's coughing and stuffed up and complaining. I'm the only one in the house who's healthy. What about Rabies, you may ask? Rabies is busy being freaked out that his brother won't play. I think it's going to be a quiet weekend.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Two Thousand Dollars
What's the value of a cat's life?
We lost our cat, Pig, last year in January. She was 13 years old, very sick, and had had a good life. It was still an incredibly difficult decision to let her go.
Two weeks later, Simon and Rabies came into our lives. For an adoption fee of, I think, $250, we got two four-month-old kittens, brothers, and a dose of fun into our family. They'll be two years old in August and they still tear around the house like kittens sometimes.
Unfortunately, that tearing around the house sometimes extends into jumping onto the plant shelf in our entryway. A plant shelf that is 9 feet off the ground (I measured). They can reach it by jumping through our upper railing and across the width of the staircase. I've written about this habit before (6/12/07, but I can't get the link to work).
Allie is home from school today because she has pinkeye. Julia didn't want to go to daycare when her sister was home with me. So all of us heard when Simon jumped across to the plant shelf. And all of us heard when he tried to jump back through the railing, clawed desperately with his back legs, and fell. He's fallen before. Once he fell right onto his side, onto vinyl flooring, and just went Oof. Then he got up and walked away.
Today, he didn't walk away. He limped away, keeping his back left leg completely off the ground. I called the vet and they got us in 1 1/2 hours later. They're going to have to sedate him to get the x-rays they need, but from how "floppy" his foot feels, our vet thinks he may have broken all of the metatarsals in that foot. She hasn't even looked for damage further up his leg yet. If he broke his foot that badly, he would need pins and wiring to position his foot correctly, so surgery would be necessary. The good news is that the surgeon could work on him tomorrow, so we'd just have to continue his pain medication through the night and he could start getting better tomorrow.
The bad news is that it would probably cost $2,000. Two thousand dollars. Allie asked how many Barbies we could buy for that (her standard measurement) and I told her, Allie, you can buy a car for $2000.
It's too early to decide what to do. First, we need to know what's really wrong with his foot and if there's any injury to his leg. I'm thinking this is gonna be about $500 worth of diagnostics. Then we have to decide what to do.
How will we decide what to do? How?
We lost our cat, Pig, last year in January. She was 13 years old, very sick, and had had a good life. It was still an incredibly difficult decision to let her go.
Two weeks later, Simon and Rabies came into our lives. For an adoption fee of, I think, $250, we got two four-month-old kittens, brothers, and a dose of fun into our family. They'll be two years old in August and they still tear around the house like kittens sometimes.
Unfortunately, that tearing around the house sometimes extends into jumping onto the plant shelf in our entryway. A plant shelf that is 9 feet off the ground (I measured). They can reach it by jumping through our upper railing and across the width of the staircase. I've written about this habit before (6/12/07, but I can't get the link to work).
Allie is home from school today because she has pinkeye. Julia didn't want to go to daycare when her sister was home with me. So all of us heard when Simon jumped across to the plant shelf. And all of us heard when he tried to jump back through the railing, clawed desperately with his back legs, and fell. He's fallen before. Once he fell right onto his side, onto vinyl flooring, and just went Oof. Then he got up and walked away.
Today, he didn't walk away. He limped away, keeping his back left leg completely off the ground. I called the vet and they got us in 1 1/2 hours later. They're going to have to sedate him to get the x-rays they need, but from how "floppy" his foot feels, our vet thinks he may have broken all of the metatarsals in that foot. She hasn't even looked for damage further up his leg yet. If he broke his foot that badly, he would need pins and wiring to position his foot correctly, so surgery would be necessary. The good news is that the surgeon could work on him tomorrow, so we'd just have to continue his pain medication through the night and he could start getting better tomorrow.
The bad news is that it would probably cost $2,000. Two thousand dollars. Allie asked how many Barbies we could buy for that (her standard measurement) and I told her, Allie, you can buy a car for $2000.
It's too early to decide what to do. First, we need to know what's really wrong with his foot and if there's any injury to his leg. I'm thinking this is gonna be about $500 worth of diagnostics. Then we have to decide what to do.
How will we decide what to do? How?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Planning ahead
Julia's fifth birthday is coming up at the end of July. If it's after her birthday and before Christmas, every time she sees a toy that she'd like on TV, she says, I want that for Christmas. If it's after Christmas and before her birthday (even if it's December 27th), she says, I want that for my birthday.
Now that her birthday actually isn't that far away, we're starting to pay more attention to what she says she wants. The other night at dinner, she started talking about some drawing kit that she saw advertised and, of course said, I want that for my birthday, Mama, I do.
I told her, OK, maybe you'll get that for your birthday. Allie (otherwise known as the voice of reason/big sister/heartbreaker) had to speak up and say, Julia, you might not get what you're asking for as a birthday present. But Julia has a backup plan. She said, I'll get Daddy's phone and call Auntie Cat and she'll get it for me for my birthday.
I guess being one of three only nieces for Auntie Cat has it's advantages!
Now that her birthday actually isn't that far away, we're starting to pay more attention to what she says she wants. The other night at dinner, she started talking about some drawing kit that she saw advertised and, of course said, I want that for my birthday, Mama, I do.
I told her, OK, maybe you'll get that for your birthday. Allie (otherwise known as the voice of reason/big sister/heartbreaker) had to speak up and say, Julia, you might not get what you're asking for as a birthday present. But Julia has a backup plan. She said, I'll get Daddy's phone and call Auntie Cat and she'll get it for me for my birthday.
I guess being one of three only nieces for Auntie Cat has it's advantages!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Pillow talk
I've been married to Gregory for over 11 years. I've been sleeping with Gregory for, oh for the sake of my mom, let's just say a little longer than 11 years. I know how Gregory sleeps.
Night before last, my husband didn't come to bed. I went to bed about 10:15. I get up at 5:30, so that's about as late as I want to stay up on a "school night." Greg was downstairs watching something on TV (not unusual, obviously) and I went to sleep. At 2:30 a.m., Allie had a bad dream and called me to her room. I can't even remember the last time one of the girls has called for me in the night. I told her to think nice thoughts and go back to sleep. And I realized that Greg hadn't come to bed yet. He was still watching TV. At 2:30 a.m., on a school night.
Yesterday morning, he said he came to bed at sometime after 2:30. I'm thinking it was maybe 3:00 or so, which, even if he did nap a little on the couch, gave him about three hours of sleep for the night. And he did this voluntarily. Not because a child kept him up by throwing up at regular intervals.
Last night, I went to bed about 10:20. Greg came upstairs a few minutes later and climbed into bed. We talked a little bit. I told him that I was making a bet. I said, I bet that within two minutes of when you stop talking, you'll be snoring. He said nuh uh.
We stopped talking. I waited about five seconds and then started counting slowly, on the scale of One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi, Three-Mississippi. I got to 52-Mississippi and he started snoring.
It's nice to always be right.
Night before last, my husband didn't come to bed. I went to bed about 10:15. I get up at 5:30, so that's about as late as I want to stay up on a "school night." Greg was downstairs watching something on TV (not unusual, obviously) and I went to sleep. At 2:30 a.m., Allie had a bad dream and called me to her room. I can't even remember the last time one of the girls has called for me in the night. I told her to think nice thoughts and go back to sleep. And I realized that Greg hadn't come to bed yet. He was still watching TV. At 2:30 a.m., on a school night.
Yesterday morning, he said he came to bed at sometime after 2:30. I'm thinking it was maybe 3:00 or so, which, even if he did nap a little on the couch, gave him about three hours of sleep for the night. And he did this voluntarily. Not because a child kept him up by throwing up at regular intervals.
Last night, I went to bed about 10:20. Greg came upstairs a few minutes later and climbed into bed. We talked a little bit. I told him that I was making a bet. I said, I bet that within two minutes of when you stop talking, you'll be snoring. He said nuh uh.
We stopped talking. I waited about five seconds and then started counting slowly, on the scale of One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi, Three-Mississippi. I got to 52-Mississippi and he started snoring.
It's nice to always be right.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Picnic and lake
We were away this weekend, visiting Greg's family, after a disgracefully long time since our last visit. I think the girls grew six or nine or twelve inches since they last saw their Nana, Papa, and aunties. There was beautiful weather to be had, sunny and warm. Central Illinois has daffodils in some sheltered places, and lots of green grass everywhere. We had a picnic in the park and the girls played on a jungle gym.
Afterwards, we walked along the lake and tried to find unsuccessfully to find any hungry ducks. There was bread on the sidewalk, there was bread floating in the water, there was bread on the rocks. The birds were not at all interested in the bread in our hands. Allie and Julia were disappointed, but amused themselves watching Riley the dog swim and find new ways to get out and sprinkle people with nasty lake water.
All in all, a very nice weekend.
Afterwards, we walked along the lake and tried to find unsuccessfully to find any hungry ducks. There was bread on the sidewalk, there was bread floating in the water, there was bread on the rocks. The birds were not at all interested in the bread in our hands. Allie and Julia were disappointed, but amused themselves watching Riley the dog swim and find new ways to get out and sprinkle people with nasty lake water.
All in all, a very nice weekend.
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