Canine Health Report

I don't want to write this post--it may take me a few tries to finish it. About two weeks ago, Jeff and I learned that Lola is in kidney failure and has up to three months to live. We knew she had kidney disease and that she had a heart murmur. Lola had started some unusual behavior--growling, peeing inside, seeming confused. 

We've worked through the worst symptoms. Lola hasn't peed in the house for about two weeks. I am very alert to her movements and take her out often. For a while, I slept in sweat pants and a t-shirt so I could move quickly if she woke up in the middle of the night. She hasn't growled at us recently, and she doesn't seem as confused. 

Of course, that doesn't change her diagnosis; it just makes things a little easier to deal with. The vet gave us a form--a quality of life assessment with a series of questions with point values. Lola is rated as a mild decrease in quality of life. 

Caring for Lola has always been a priority for me--now it's become my top priority. We want to make her last days as good as possible. I'm happy that it's spring--it will be nicer for walks and park visits. 

We love our Lola. 

Deadwood Re-Watch

Jeff and I were big fans of Deadwood when in originally aired in 2004--2006 and bought the DVD's for all three seasons.  We were happy when the movie finally came out in 2019. We recorded it but didn't watch it until recently. I was afraid I wouldn't remember some of the characters and plot lines. After much procrastination, we finally started to re-watch the series this January followed by the movie. 

Deadwood is unlike any western I've ever seen. It's dirt under the fingernails gritty, mud in the streets grimy. The characters are desperados, dreamers, opportunists, professionals, prospectors, prostitutes, and salesmen. None are stereotypes--the characters are rich and multi-layered.

The dialogue is brilliant--like Shakespeare if he used "cocksucker" and "fuck" liberally. The stories are compelling. The acting is superb. Re-watching the series reminded me of just how good it was. 

I need to re-watch the movie a few times. 

Bonus: in a recent writing class, our assignment was to write an origin story for a famous pair. Nan wrote about the partnership of Al Swearengen and Dan Dority in the Deadwood camp. I loved hearing her story, and it was great to find another Deadwood fan. 

It Was 20 Years Ago Today

Spike came home to live with us to stay.

We will never forget him--he gave us so much love and fun. I'm confident we did the same for him. Someone at Taylor Farm Dog Park called him, "the dog with the perpetual smile."

Spike--smiling through the years.

Spring is Here

As I was driving home from the gym yesterday, I learned that spring officially began at 11:33 AM. It couldn't come fast enough for me. I have to admit we had a relatively mild winter, but it seemed interminable. 

Spring means more daylight, warmer temperatures, longer walks, birdsong, outdoor dining, and hopefully a mini getaway. 

Lots to look forward to. 

First Dog Park Friday of 2022

Yesterday was the latest best day of the year, and we had an official Dog Park Friday. We saw a pair of dogs from our neighborhood, some Taylor Farm regulars, and met a beagle. 

I miss the days when we routinely had 10 to 12 people at a DPF. Now we have a core group of five who've made it through the pandemic together. We can't count on this being a weekly thing yet--it's too early in the season--but it's a nice start. 

Erin go bragh

 Happy Saint Patrick's Day. 

For the first time in three years, Jeff and I went out to lunch--the Little Pub in Wilton. They had Irish specials but we chose lunch from their normal menu. It was nice to out again even if the day was dreary. At least it was warm. 

Happy 33.5 years Jeff

Happy Pi Day!

It wasn't the best day for us, but we still had a pizza in honor of Pi Day. 

It's also Albert Einstein's birthday. As he said, "Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere."

Spring Forward

We move the clocks ahead tonight. The day kind of snuck up on me. It's unfair to spring forward on a cold day of rain, icy rain, and snow, bur we got off easy once again from this latest storm, so I won't complain anymore. 

I have an excuse to post this poem again. 

Spring Forward

The government stole an hour from me

2 am Sunday morning

when all decent people are asleep

no witnesses.

 

The government stole an hour from me

they don’t admit to stealing; they call it legislating

but the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

 

The government stole an hour from me

they’ve got everyone in cahoots with them

big business, schools and the media

I can’t fight them all.

 

The government stole an hour from me

they say they’ll give it back in November

But I want it now

 

Who knows?

In November, my time may be up.

Book Nine: Triangle The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle

This is a masterful book--meticulously researched and beautifully written--I felt immersed in 1910s New York. 

Von Drehle used the trial transcript of People of New York v. Issac Harris and Max Blanck--the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory--for the harrowing details of the fire. The transcript had been thought to be lost, but a copy belonging to the defense attorney Max Steuer was found in the private library of the New York County Lawyers' Association. Other sources included newspapers, periodicals, biographies, histories, novels, and unpublished dissertations. 

Von Drehle's detailed research extends to immigration history, tenement life, economics, unions, and political factions from Tammany Hall to liberal, society matrons. I was happy to learn about union leader Clara Lemlich and learn more about Al Smith, Robert Wagner, and Frances Perkins. 

This is an important book. 

Lousy Smarch Weather

Just a few days ago, temperatures were flirting with 70 degrees. Today it rained and snowed. Luckily it started a few hours later than predicted, and I was able to take Lola to Oyster Shell for a walk. More rain and snow are predicted for Saturday. Ugh. 

Oh well, I can watch this clip and laugh.

Bolognese Sauce

A variation.

I've been making my own sauce for over 30 years, but I never made a meat sauce. I was inspired by watching The Pioneer Woman at the gym. In one episode, she bought something like 10 pounds of ground beef and mentioned Bolognese Sauce. 

I had just decided to make sauce when Shoprite had a sale on organic ground beef. It was an omen. I starting cooking before I looked at a recipe. Many include ground pork; I don't have pork. Many call for a carrot; I do have carrots. I used crushed tomatoes, one-and-a-half pounds of ground beef, onion, garlic, pepper, and carrot. 

We had salmon for dinner tonight and will save the sauce for tomorrow. It will be good.

Welcome March

I've been thinking of ways to describe the last week in February: mercurial, interesting, ricochet. I'll start with the weather. On Wednesday, Lola and I walked on the NRVT and it was 70 degrees. Then temperatures plummeted. Two days later, we dealt with icy rain and snow. 

My mood was as changeable as the weather. I am struggling to accomplish---well anything. I keep up with the day-to-day things that I have to do like cooking, dishes, laundry, and Lola. Beyond that, it's not so easy. Then I get frustrated with myself for my lack of accomplishments and my choices. For example, I had planned to get all our income tax documents together last weekend. (Friday was the first day one document was available.) I completely forgot, and now another week has passed. While waiting a week to deal with the taxes is not a real problem, it's a symptom of a real problem.

There were a few new developments. I finished February with an Ekphrastic Writing Workshop at the Aldrich Museum. We looked at three exhibits and wrote about artworks of our choice. It was a nice afternoon. Jeff started acupuncture treatment. Hopefully it will ease his pain and increase his mobility.

March brings spring and St. Patrick's Day; I look forward to both. March usually brings baseball. I'm not sure about that this year. I've barely thought about baseball this year, probably because there hasn't been much talk about the actual game; the talks been about the labor talks or really the lack thereof. I don't mind waiting for baseball, at least for now. 

Book Eight: A Fall of Marigolds by Nancy Meissner

I think I first heard about this book from Modern Mrs. Darcy and a list of historical fiction. A scarf with marigolds links two stories a century apart: a survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire who is mourning the loss of a man she believed she would love and marry and a survivor of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center who is mourning her husband. To add to the women's guilt, both men died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time because of plans to meet the women.

I liked Clara's story from 1911 but couldn't get into Taryn's 2011 story. I was also ambivalent about Meissner's writing. While I admired some of it, it seemed that sometimes Meissner was trying too hard.