August 31, 2020

ugh.. was awake past midnight.. then awake again by 4am.. and still awake when power went out for 5 minutes at 5am.. did eventually fall asleep, then woke around 7ish (?) and crawled out of bed at 8.. I thought I had plenty of time to get ready for work but the next thing I knew it was 8:46 and I was going to be late -- I arrived at 9:03 😖 

we still had 9 morning appointments and 5 afternoon appointments.. 
1 morning appointment cancelled and was immediately replaced by another.
1 afternoon appointment cancelled and was replaced by another.
we actually had another client call in in the afternoon for 2nd opinion but never showed up
when I texted to inquire, they stated the dog was "calm so {they} will wait"

I spent the whole day sending faxes, and sending records, and calling for records.. 
I called the same place twice for records on the same client..
I called the lab twice for corrections on a test -- one they updated, one it was too late.. 
I called the same CLIENT twice for almost the same reason 😠 

I thought about the DMV truck payment at 4am, realizing it was month end and we were now a whole month behind on registration.
I have the printout of when the autodraft was completed -- however, the check has never been cashed and we have no sticker for the license plate 😡
so now I have to go to a local auto shop who does handle car registration. but I have to pay a late fee for being a month late 😞
live and learn..
I should have just done that in the first place..

I remembered my credit card payment at midnight.. realizing it was month end and I had not paid it 😲

so yes.. no sleep last night.. 
I don't know why the power went out.. it affected the whole entire mountain..
but another reason that caused lack of sleep for fear of not waking up on time and being late to work..

but wait..
that happened anyway 😑

August 30th

it is apparent.. that I am a parent.
I was trying to watch something on Facebook Live.. it wasn't working out well..
someone commented that the sound quality is better on YouTube..
meanwhile, all 3 dogs and the cat wanted to sit with me..
they each wanted me to hold their hand..
and pet them..
Gwen's licking me non-stop..
and Charlie's chasing the cat..
I got 2 dogs laying on top of me..
the 3rd is pawing at me to keep petting him..
my sound quality is horrible on my tablet..
and the video keeps buffering..
😑

gave Big Momma (chicken) some yogurt.
I feel we might lose her like her "sister" Liverwurst. 
Liverwurst was plagued by some french bread I threw out to them.
Big Momma appears to be plagued by some yard clippings I threw out to them.
I should have chopped them up smaller, but she was a "pig" and was swallowing the clumps down whole.
nobody else did, so I wasn't concerned.. but then her crop began to grow.. and now it won't get smaller 😟 

gave our other Momma (Gwen) her meds in baby food.
I was holding the bowl so the boys would steal from her.. they all wanted a taste.
that flapping tongue was flinging more food onto me, then the amount she was actually swallowing.
I knew I would have no problem getting her to take her meds because she is a foodie.
but wasn't expecting to have to baby sit her on eating her food 😜
yesterday she had her baby food of meds.. & she got some roast turkey and salami during the day..
she peed once at 8am.. and not again until almost 8pm (possibly later..)
today she'd already peed twice by noon. still no poops yet, but it's only day 2 post-op.

this week I work Monday.. then off Tuesday and Wednesday.. and work Thursday and Friday.
I would imagine I'm off next Monday as well, since it is Labor Day and we are closed. 
Jaime's last day is next Saturday (the 12th) so I would imagine my schedule will be changing a bit..

I cleaned the kitty boxes, still need to clean the counter and the floor.
she basically has that as "her" room.
her food bowls are on the counter and her poop boxes are in the tub.
we only use it for the toilet and the sink.
there is still cat litter in the tub and on the floor, because she is "floofy"-footed.
and she's a messy eater so there is food on the counter and "back splash". 

i remembered to do my laundry at 12:30.. and I remembered to move it at 2:30
then as i unloaded, i remembered i wanted to rewash dog blankets -- smelled mildewy..

i washed the dishes today. i do major cleaning very rarely.
i try to let him be independent (he's home almost 24/7)
but that means things don't always get cleaned.
sunday i catch up on stuff..
which ends up being a week's worth of catch-up.
oh well.. it's getting done..

i videoed Mr Grey today.. I had gone out to pet him yesterday and he was rolling around on his back, meowing at me. today he didn't do that.. and he knew i'd come with food so that's all he was really interested in.. oh well, I'll try again another day..

tomorrow we have 9 morning appointments, and 5 appointments in the afternoon.. 

Gwen's e-collar is really bugging her today. she was trying to itch so i took it off to scratch her chin.
then it REALLY bothered her.. took it off again and let her shake around a bit.. 
then dried it off (she is a messy messy drinker) and put it back.. that seemed to help.
her incision is looking really good and i'd hate for her to mess it up now.
she has her last meds tomorrow morning..
she can't reach her boo-boo with her e-collar on.. 
she can only reach her butt and her who-ha..

made peanut butter cookies for dessert
betty crocker mix.. add water and veggie oil
i also added white choco chips and dark choco chips
yum-yum-yummy 😋

August 29, 2020

Gwen started my morning with her flapping tongue.
she had rolled herself onto my hip and was licking my elbow *lick *lick *lick 😝
then Charlie was lying on my bladder and Dude standing on my chest..
so much for sleeping in.. 

I gave her her medicine in some chicken and gravy Gerber food. she didn't even seem to notice.
I didn't accomplish a whole lot all day.. was just facebooking..
tried to take a nap with Charlie, but he was too wiggly..
perhaps I'll get a nap tomorrow.. possibly.. maybe..

I sat out front with Mr Grey for awhile. he was rubbing up against me, and wanted pets. 
eventually he lay down on the porch in front of me. 
I kept hearing a bump every once in awhile.. and he would startle and jump up, ready to run..
then he meowed and came back for more pets..
I really wish I could pet him more than I do.. he's somewhat trusting, but still a little fearful..

I try to keep the chickens from trying to hatch eggs.
we have no roosters so the eggs are just food, not babies..
Lavender is still intent on sitting.. 
I kick her out every day, multiple times if I get the chance. 
I usually try to feed them some slop when I boot her, so she'll get food..
the more she sits, the less she eats..
and babies are never hatching so she'd sit forever if I didn't boot her.

I thought of watching a movie, but lately my luck is "iffy"
we/he made some stir fry for dinner. 
tofu, bean sprouts, brussell sprouts, black rice, white rice, 

Monday is the end of the month.. already.. 
it went way too quickly
I don't know what I have to show for it.. 

I think I might go running in the am..maybe.. possibly..
and then try to stream some church in the am.. ⛪ 🕇
I don't remember what time, so hope I'm awake for it.. not busy..
a friend had done a "facebook watch party" a couple weeks ago
so I'll find that page, and stream it again. 
give myself a schedule to keep each Sunday. 😊
I know it won't make Mom happy. 
if I find a Catholic one, I'll try streaming that one too/instead.

August 28th

Gwennie got spayed today. we all woke up at 7:15.. gwennie and charlie went out for pees. then gwennie came in and the dude went out. gwennie and i went to midway for the atm. the girl there was talking to me about where a find a new dog.. she wants a young dog, but not a puppy. i couldn't even think of anything offhand.. i could only think of little suki but she is a puppy still.. 
then gwennie and i went to soth and stood in line. she was so good. she didn't bark at anyone. she just sat by my feet.. we'd get up to move forward, and then she'd sit back down.. lay down a couple times too. 
when it was our turn, she walked right up to the lady while i filled out paperwork. then back in another line. a couple other ladies walked up to us. she shied away a bit but wasn't aggressive or "guardy". i felt really bad when they took her. i could tell she was confused, probably thought i was leaving her behind, giving her away. i came home and took a nap. i had just woken up, and they called to come get her. ronnie and i put the boys back outside and drove down to get her. she was very drugged and 'drunk'. couldn't walk across the parking lot very well (couldn't walk in a straight line!) so ronnie carried her to the car.. drove home and we carried her in the house (6 steps to the front porch.. then 13 steps to the main floor). we left the boys outside for a bit longer. did not want them to overwhelm her, especially the Dude. eventually let Charlie in, and put Dude on a leash. Charlie ran up, said "hi" then he went and to say "hi" to Ronnie and lay down. Dude was tugging and pulling on the leash, just wanted to run right up to Gwen. I know earlier in the day, Ronnie actually stepped on Charlie's foot and he yelped. then Dude came and "attacked" him.. dominated him. I did not want Dude to do that to Gwen.. not as a mating hump, but as a dominating hump. 
Gwennie was a little uneasy for part of the day, but eventually fell back to sleep. Dude was VERY interested in her at first, too interested. had to "bop" him away a couple times. I kept him on leash and as soon as she stirred or she got up, he was ready to climb on top. he did try to hump her head a lot. he tried to hump her butt just before bed. got bonked away from her for that. he didn't try that again. i carried her down the stairs and onto the bed. she just lay in one spot so I crawled into bed behind her.


I didn't accomplish anything else all day.. I had the 3.5 hours while she was gone and slept for 2 of those 3.5.  then i didn't want to take my eyes off her all afternoon, had to keep an eye that Dude was behaving. I just went outside to check eggs a couple times a day. Ronnie refilled their water pool while I was gone in the morning. there were "bloodworms" in it. I had to research them. they come from midge flies, which are like miniature mosquitoes. perhaps our mosquitoes in the greenhouse are midge flies -- but midge flies don't bite.
then that make me think about the recent cases of bot flies we've had at work.
1 dog came in with a sore on his foot.. they thought fox tail, but then figured some sort of bug bite or spider bite. later in the week, he had a bot fly larva in his side.
Monday, we had a german shepherd dog come in with a sore on the bottom of her foot -- bot fly larva.
Thursday, we had a standard poodle come in for a recheck on his aspiration pneumonia. upon his exam, we discovered some sorts on his side, the vet suspected he'd been bitten by something.. once she shaved.. 5 bot fly larva.. :( 

Ronnie made homemade pasta sauce and sghetti, and we kept checking up on Gwennie. that was the whole day :)

Head in the Clouds (2004)

The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999)

Love is the expression of one's values, the greatest reward you can earn for the moral qualities you have achieved in your character and person, the emotional price paid by one man for the joy he receives from the virtues of another.

Love is something you give
Love's not something you keep
It's a maze, a haze, complicated and sweet
Never know when it leaves
Bot you know when it's not
All the time define, realize
What you've got
Love you lose a feeling
Is the greatest reward
Can't be seen
But a touch
You can't ignore
---
Love is something you know
But you don't understand
Love is fundamental, dangerous and gentle
Love is not what we choose
Love is what we do
Love is what we do
---
Love is fundamental, dangerous and gentle
Love is not what we choose
Love is what we do
Love is what
Love is what
we do
---
Love is what we do

August 27, 2020

14 appointments were scheduled (10 morning, 4 afternoon) but it turned into 10 morning and 8 afternoon..

the very first appointment of the day was a standard poodle for a recheck. he has had aspiration pneumonia, and has been managing okay -- but he doesn't want to eat. we did more xrays, and the doctor checked his breathing.. during his exam, she commented on some scabs he had. the tech said that mom had mentioned some scabs at his last exam and doctor thought possibly he'd been bitten by something.. but once she shaved the spots (what we thought were 2 spots.. then turned into 3..) she knew what they were. called the other girl to come 'do her magic'. those "3" spots, were actually 5.. 5 BOT FLY holes!! 
this has been the year of bot flies.  uck.. and yet, I could not NOT look! I gave him some subcutaneous fluids, and some jerky treats for being such a good boy.. he LoVeD the jerky treats, no problem! I think he's just being picky with mom's food..

the 2 kitties came in.. one was having allergy issues. the owner had put flea tick meds on her, but she was pulling her hair out, wouldn't stop itching. owner thought perhaps it was a reaction to the meds. no issue was found. so she was given a bath.. what cat likes a bath? and no fleas were found, so meds seem to be doing the trick..

the 2nd kitty was adopted some years ago from our local shelter. he was found stray (originally thought to be a "she" and was discovered to have a bb pellet in his back. well, since then, he has had issues with his back legs, also had a mass in his bladder. his thyroid medication was changed, and we were rechecking how well his meds were working. well.. once he came in, they ultrasounded him to see how the mass was doing and he was not doing well. it was time to say good bye :(

then came a mean little doggie for hot spots (my kiddos have hot spots too.. it's that time of year)
and an african grey for beak and wing trim ((we don't trim ours beak or wings.. she lives life naturally -- she doesn't really fly anyhow.. she's a "walk about" bird..))

then was doctor's cousin's dog for her exam and labwork. once she was finished doctor's sister went out to eat with the cousin.. so the dog was hanging around the office, happily "talking" to anyone and everyone who walked by.

an australian shepherd for exam and labwork.
and then a new doggie (and a new breed we've never had before) named "Heidi". she was scared of everyone, but thankfully still well behaved. she had a heck of a time trusting the door when we left. once i opened it and told her we were going to "daddy", she dragged me through scraping my whole arm and elbow on the door frame..

then came some wiggly puppies for nail trims.. the male can be bitey and the female can get ferocious. the male actually did pretty well.. and the female stayed still for 1 nail.. one..
then she turned vicious. we tried to find reinforcements but everyone else was busy. then the doctor came in to help. she was still a ferocious wild animal, but we got through it with lots of distractions.

yay.. half hour break between appointments.. oh em gee..

a new little cutie for an exam. he had a wound on his neck that another vet had not been able to heal with antibiotics. our doctor did surgery.. we'll see if that fixed it..

and a gorgeous girl for labwork.. was a 1 hour test.. pulled blood, give a shot, pull blood again an hour later. thankfully she's a sweetheart and was perfectly happy watching people come and go in our lobby.

another sick dog.. congestive heart failure.. this poor mom has 2 elderly dogs.. one with heart issues and one who is blind with seizures.. she tries her best to give both a good life, and make both of them comfortable. 

a cutie puppy for more worming meds.. new weight, new dose.. he's growing up, up, up!

a kitty who has been spayed some years ago.. still has a heat, although she really really shouldn't be

a labradorable for a allergy shot..

another labradorable for a vaccine..

a new little itty bitty baby puppy for exam.. she's gots worms..

i couldn't wait to get out of there..
i was still tired from earlier in the week..
was it monday?
or was it tuesday?   

time for my weekend.. some people thought i had 3 days off for fun.. 
we were going to have a friend stay the weekend.. he had cancelled long ago, but i still requested the time off.. it was really for gwen's benefit. i needed my sleep to deal with these crazies, and have her ready for surgery.. but when is 3 days off a "bad" thing? ever?? i'm all for it! 

August 26th

Sleepy day.
Ronnie had a few classes and I didn't really want to do much all day long. Gwen has her spay on Friday and it can't come soon enough. she's at the point of her heat that Dude is becoming very persistent, and she is becoming very slutty. I spent class time keeping them separated and watching movies. I wanted nothing more than to nap 'forever'. I did take a 2-1/2 hour nap while he was out of class but I would have slept more if I could have.
I kept thinking I had to get out cash for Gwen's spay but I never left the house (story of my life!)
they even called to confirm so I knew how much I'd need to get out.. but I thought about it all day..
"I need to go"..
"I should go soon"..
"I need to go soon".. 
it never happened..

last night, I was busy keeping the "happy humpers" in line.. they woke me up multiple times in the night.. either on the bed or in the hallway. I still knew and had to beat their butts. I got about 6 hours of sleep and it was not enough.. 

during his 1st class I had a bad dream. I was walking for my car across the street, to the house.. and a motorcycle came out of nowhere preventing me from just walking right through.. he rode past and I ran up the driveway.. by the time he'd come round again I was hiding on the porch with Mr Grey. Every time I'd try to unlock the front door, he was driving past again. eventually he turned into a dodge 2500 truck.. i couldn't get my keys fast enough so i'd have to keep hiding and hiding.. and I'd try to see the license plate and it was just a blank white plate (no state.. no number).. and when I came in the house, Ronnie had been napping on the couch and jumped up to give me a big hug.  then I woke up.
I think it had to do with our issues we've been having. twice now, someone has siphoned our gas and stolen the gas cap -- the 2nd time, they had stolen our new locking gas cap. so now i bought another one.. hopefully this one will work out better for us (and not for them)


I was really stressing about family in Texas. my family is so sprawled out, and I don't know where they live (I don't even know half of them) but one cousin has been keeping us all informed. Hurricane Laura made landfall on Wednesday afternoon. I know she had been forecast as a Cat 2, but was upgraded to a Cat 4. but she had not yet reached shore at that point. by this afternoon, she had.. 
I'm happy to say all my cousins and aunts and uncles stayed safe. a few had evacuated, a couple had not. my aunt needs to find a new place to live because she needs assisted living, and many facilities are closed.. she moved in with my cousin (one of her sons) for the time being, until a place can be set up for her.

The Whole Wide World (2009)

Virtuosity (1990)

August 25, 2020

we planned for: 8 morning appointments, plus a surgery, and 4 afternoon appointments.. 
we ended up with: 7 morning appointments.. the surgery.. 5 afternoon appointments.. plus 1 emergency at 6:15pm.. 

our surgery was a 12 year old female, sweet as can be, but very bonded to her daddy and terrified to be away from him. she was just having a dental cleaning. she got her morphine shot, then she sat with dad until it took effect. he gave her a hug and a kiss and told her he'd be back for her.. the doctor had me tell him that we'd call when she was waking up so he could sit with her. she was hesitant about going into the back and was very wobbly from then on.. she was a very good girl though.. and we told her so many many times 💗 they were still in surgery when dad showed up. he waited in the lobby for her whole surgery.. only running out to his van to grab another book to read. what a very devoted daddy. he has her and 3 litter mates at home.. he helped every single one of them being born.

then came an australian shepherd for recheck on her pneumonia. she is another good girl. but very nosy. that made taking xrays very difficult because she wanted to know what everyone else in the place was doing.

cutie beagle and siamese kitty from the same family..  siamese kitty has no more teeth, but he's a tom cat (neutered.. but wily none-the-less) and he still has claws.. so he gave us all a run for our money.. 
cutie beagle needed labwork and nail trim.. it's always the ones who are difficult for nail trims, who need nail trims..

an adorable puppy.. golden retriever/great pyrenees pup. mom had high hopes of socializing her, and had every intention of creating playdates for her. however covid-19 is a crazy things that messes with any social ideas. poor Annie is very timid and you have to move slowly or you'll frighten her. she looks at you with her big puppy dog "puss in boots" eyes. took some time but i was able to get her to snuggle into my lap for hugs. that way she got her last distemper shot and her rabies shot.. at that point i don't think she trusted me for snuggles anymore 😕 but, man, is she soft and fluffy! 

2 babies kitties for their feline respiratory vaccine.. both orange, and yet 1 male 1 female.. 
the male was thought to be a girl originally and was named Ginger -- now he is named Gilligan..
the female from the same litter (but had been rehomed) is named Tinka..

a labra-doodle-adorable had his ears cleaned weeks ago.. he is the goodest boy when his ears are clean, quite grumpy when his ears are not clean..

a surprise exam came in.. her dog had jumped wrong one day and hasn't jumped well since.. she crashes, loses her balance, not weight bearing on one foot. runs okay but not really using that foot completely. xrays and exam for neurological issues? seems to be a sprain.

another adorable puppy for vaccines. this one a little friendlier than the golden/pyr.. but also unable to socialize due to covid-19. 

and another new puppy for an exam. mommy just got her, and has been lost with out her babies she said good bye to long ago.. this baby is the cutest as cute can be.. tons of puppy kisses on noses and ears.. 

a recheck for ear infections, and allergy shot. sweet as pie, loves to visit with everyone. with the name Honey, that says it all! 

another new patient we haven't seen before.. they clients who board and train. this was our first patient who is truly their own pet. and what a well-trained gentleman he was.

then came our emergency wildlife. the wildlife rehabber had seen him days before but been unable to catch him. he had been attacked by something and was in really rough shape. missing his tail, wounds on his back, missing skin on most of his fingers.. poor guy was young as well.. but they did a full exam and treatment on him -- including cleaning him up so he could smell like the "land of the living" again.

it was a sleepy day and i couldn't wait to get home.. found out 3.5 hours before I left that our gas had been stolen -- again! and this time they took our locking gas cap too! i am parked away from the truck. neighbor's cameras are keeping an eye on our truck.. house on the street behind us is checking if her cameras can cover us as well. planning to move a motion sensor light from the backdeck to the garage.. and get another to cover the front porch area.

August 24th

back to work unfortunately. we had a sweet old kitty in for a glucose test. such a teeny tiny little old lady. feel so bad for the poor kitty. this is a tough life for her. just skin and bones.

a few other appointments to start out the day. one girl is scheduled last of the morning because she's not on time.. so my 8:30 turns into 8:36... while her 9:00 turns into 9:43 😖 
once she arrived, i helped with blood pulls and xrays while she did the exams. 
Saturday morning a poor sick kitty came from the nearby shelter, who we had to euthanize. and Monday morning, the rest of the litter joined in too  😢
little did I know I would be helping. those kitties sat in a crate for hours.. no food.. no water.. no litter box. 2 coworkers wanted to hep them.. give them food, give them comfort.. but both ladies have multiple kitties and are not to come in contact with them. in fact, only the doctor and "ms 9:43" have no kitties. all the rest of us have furries of our own who we love and try to protect. 

we had another unscheduled doggie (italian greyhound) for exam as owner knew she had teeth issues and was concerned she had a bad tooth. she had her exam, and bloodwork. while we were taking xrays, he called his "other vet" and liked their prices better. so he took his blood sample and headed out for Los Angeles.. the xrays wren't going so well anyway :) 

then a little dog in for her twice-a-year exam. we ended up doing bloodwork because although she is supposed to be losing weight, she continuously gains.. owner was unaware. 

then came a large dog, another tooth issue. we've never seen him so he was very terrified. he also had an issue with some lumps on his face -- making a muzzle a tricky technique. ;P 

then some little bitty baby kitties. supposedly the boy is cuddly and girl is hands-free.. 
ha! were they wrong.. the girl was a wiggler and fussy. but that boy was VERY hands-off!
I had to take over xrays on the tooth dog with face lumps.. while the tech took over on the kittens. jeeze..

then.. came time for the kittens. they had a torb injection to calm them down.. they were will playful wily kittens. the kitten on saturday was very vocal.. high fever.. unable to stand on her hind legs. the kittens on monday were wiggly, high fevers, but more mobile. the doctor said that their plump bellies were signs of fip.. given their littermates issues on saturday along with their high fevers there was no positive outcome. each kitten purred while i held them.. 2 boys, 1 girl.. one black like her, and 2 orange kitties.. fip is signified as the 'purring disease". the cat will purr at the end of their life, as their own comfort for the pain they are in. these kittens were not even at that level of the disease yet but it did not make my job any easier. we toweled each one individually. washed up and gowns off. i made sure to mark the sign as "dirty" so we wouldn't foget to clean up. 
then came the realization that, uh, we need to USE isolation again.. and no one could touch the kitties except for who had already touched them.
so back in i went to bag up for communal cremation.. that was harder than holding them for their good-byes.

the rest of the day was fairly uneventful. we did have 2 pets, 1 dog and 1 cat, with unexplained cuts.. but both were not major issues. 

the last appointment of the day was schedule literally at the last minute. owner came in, thought her dog might have botfly larvae.. they got her into the room and doctor started her exam. we all were discussing the day when we heard blood curdling screams. she found the larvae. 😀

the highlight (and funny point) of the day was surprise pizza from a mystery admirer in the morning..
and then a SECOND pizza delivery from our last appointment. 

August 23, 2020

ahh.. what a day it was. i was enjoying sleeping in, and being lazy.. but we had plans
it was a wonderful day. i took my shower and washed my hair. then off we went on our adventure. loaded up the brisket, and brauts.. and all 3 dogs (plus Gwen's ball) and drove about 2 miles away 😁
then unloaded everyone. i was a little concerned Dude would be rude.. Gwen's in heat, and she's his "woman". but as much as Frankie tried to be dominant, Dude just ignored him. Gwen got a little impatient with Frankie but it served him right.. no one got mad about it. 

I spent some time with Tracy, going over family stuff.. looking at pictures.. it was nice. 
Then we went outside and threw the ball to the dogs, had nice topics of chi-chat. then we all sat out to eat in the back yard. it was a wonderful day that went all too quickly.

August 22th

Last night was such a horrible night of sleep. I do remember one dream. I was walking through the neighborhood where I grew up (as if driving it as I had always done). I frequently dream of this neighborhood.. sometimes I'm a current resident, and sometimes I'm visiting -- as if spying on the owners of "my" house.. last night I dreampt that they had Chicken Fry.. I visited her, looking through the "window" my dad had made in the dog run.. then I continued walking with Ron and Lori to a house down the street to cross to Sycamore Elementary.  although we had made it halfway across the street, the street was then twice as wide.. no matter how often we got to the middle, it doubled in size and we never got there. 
I was awake at 4am.. and at 5am.. and at 6am. I was tempted to get up at 6am but told myself that was much too early. although when 8am came around, I did not want to get up. I crawled out of bed at 8:25, shoveled 2 bowls of honey nut cheerios in my mouth and barely got out the door at 8:51 (I was scheduled to BE at work at 8:50...)

it was a chaotic day at work. I helped with the first few appointments, then tried to catch up my office-work.  I had not been to work since Tuesday, but that doesn't prevent the work from still piling up for me. all the while I was still helping with appts -- with exams, and xrays, and blood pulls.. in between ins claims, and ins calls, and prepping files for Monday. quite a few xrays were on patients that wouldn't lie still.. hard as we tried, they fought us just as hard -- if not more..

we ordered Subway for lunch.. and Renee ordered Red Dot.. so there were so many choices of food -- while I am trying to get back onto Keto.. 
I had 6" tuna on wheat with tomatoes and bell peppers and spinach and lettuce, with provolone and chipotle sauce.. & bbq lays chips on the side. I also ate a cheese wrap with 2 pieces of applewood ham with some coke zero before heading back to work. while at work I ate 1-1/2 cookies and 1/2 a piece of naan ((so much for Keto..))

there were Dr Russell appointments, and Dr Cosko appointments.. DC appointments ended at 2, while Dr Russell appointments went all the way until 5. we also had a last-minute admit, a kitten from the shelter next door.. very lethargic, difficulty walking. he was a sweet kitten, but horrible balance. he would not even try to walk. if held, he would stretch his legs or kick a little. but once you put him down, he would stand a short while before falling over. also had a super high fever.. they suspected some sort of injury or trauma, possibly born with a defect, but that would not account for the fever & xrays showed nothing. 1 girl was trying to hand-feed him but he had no interest. he just complained, was very vocal, and that was his sign that he was not comfortable. it was predicted that he had FIP and was humanely euthanized. so very sad. 

the day seemed to last forever -- even after all the appointments ended. I kind of ran out of things to do. so I packed up and left. I took some more naan bread plus daal and saag, and mint chutney. that was dinner. 

perhaps I'll start working on this Keto thing tomorrow..
maybe after Tracy's house?

August 21, 2020

today was a VERY lazy morning. we had gone to bed at midnight.. he got up to pee at 3 something(?) and made some racket.. then he fell right back to sleep and I was wide awake. the doggies got up at 4 something. first Gwen got up, then I heard some commotion and she didn't come back. Dude got up and things were silent -- but then they both didn't come back so I got up to investigate. nothing. when I turned around to come back to bed, Dude was by the gate, & Gwen was by the front door acting VERY guilty. I shoved them both back to bed then tried to find a place to squeeze into bed. Ronnie and I woke up a couple times at 7 and 8 but didn't actually get up until 10! hooray for sleep.

fed the chickens some left over broccoli cuttings and a cauliflower.. then grabbed their bowl for slop. upon filling it, I found a back of old spinach and shredded up some carrots with their usual oatmeal and dried veggies and BOSS seeds and oyster shell. I also added some mealworms to their slop. gave them something good to work for. I filled their feed bucket too. no eggs today as of 1pm.. perhaps they were late risers as well.

I bought some bug zappers for the greenhouse because we have an "infestation" of mosquitoes. Ronnie hasn't wanted to go in there for weeks.

I also bought tartar crackers and dental scalers for the dogs. Dude did the best with being "man handled", Charlie was very concerned. he needs it most but I'll take my time and do a little each time. Gwen loves being in my lap, but she hates her cheek being folded inside out. I was able to get a lot off of them still. Charlie has horrible breath so I hope this will help. they have Oravets on Sunday and CET chews on Wednesday.. then Pedigree dental chews the rest of the week. the Oravet just wasn't cutting it, and neither was adding in the CET. but I can't do more than once a week each because they are too expensive. the CET were free from work, so I'll have to dish out the money when those run out (I'll probably get from Amazon.. or from Chewy like their Oravets). I try to prevent the need for them to go to the vet. to buy any treats or food, they need an exam, which turns into vaccines that are overdue but useless, and bloodwork because they don't gain weight, and a dental surgery because they teeth are yucky.. so I self-suffice and do the things myself that she wants to do (aside from bloodwork and useless vaccines).
I also bought purple tomato seeds.. "guaranteed to grow" -- but manufactured for 2019 .. we shall see..

Ronnie had 1 class at 2 that he was able to take up the whole hour AND give homework, and something for her to research. he took a little break from 3-4 to find stuff for his 4:00 class, another new student.. then his 5:00 class was a "package" guy who he has taught before.  

ugh, today was my last day.. it's always so nice as long as it lasts -- but it goes too quickly. 
1 day of work, then off 1 more day. 
then 2 days work, 1 day off, 1 day work, 3 days off! woohoo.. 
next Friday is Gwen's spay.. so I can't sleep in.. oh well..

August 20th

ah.. I was enjoying sleeping this morning. we went to bed at 10pm and I was still in bed at 9am. the only reason I got up was because Charlie does not understand the fact that he weighs 23lbs. he still thinks he is 6oz.. Dude doesn't understand this fact either.. but he will at least carefully walk across all your vital organs, while Charlie pounces and jumps onto all your vital organs. which isn't so nice when you really have to pee and are just trying to enjoy a little extra time in bed. of course, once I woke up and got up, I realized Gwen was again still wearing her diaper. and again she had poo in it. so I got up and dressed then together Ronnie and I caught her to take her diaper off. 

I fed the chickens some leftover watermelon. then mixed their slop, and put that in their pen while I gathered eggs (chasing lavender off of them..). I fed the kitties their yummies too. I tried cleaning up a bit downstairs. cleaned the cat box.. and put away some sheets and towels and blankets and pillows that had been sitting in the bedroom for months. also pulled the trash that had been sitting on the floor for months. 

it is really smoky today, more than yesterday. looks like we are at the end of the world.. on an island - an island of us. all day long was yellow tan. not much else to see. at sunset the sun was very orange. a bright RED ORANGE.

https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Plum-Tart 
I made my dessert I had wanted to make yesterday. it came out totally different than it was supposed to.
not better.. or worse.. just different.
it took me awhile to get my tablet to start up (it was sleeping). then I opened google chrome a number of times, but it would just freeze and go white. I opened microsoft safe browser, and it would open the page, freeze, then "page unable to load". so I had to "memorize" a recipe I've never used before. I quickly grabbed my dry ingredients - reload page - measured my ingredients - reload page.. of course our tub of all purpose flour was mostly empty so I chose between cake flour or bread flour or wheat flour ((I chose cake flour)). I left the 7tbsp of butter out to soften while I mixed dry ingredients. mixed wet ingredients into the dry.. then realized I was supposed to mix them together before putting into the dry ingredients)). mixed by hand as Ronnie was teaching and I didn't want to turn on the noisy mixer. of course then I realize with "sloppy" hands, that I hadn't put the vanilla extract in.. so wiped the goo off my hands, washed my hands, then measured out the vanilla extract and mixed some more. once I was as mixed as I was going to get, I wiped the goo off again, washed my hands, and weighed my peaches -- trying to get as close as I could to 1 lb. I turned on the oven to 400. then I put the silicone mat on the cookie sheet and poured the goo onto the mat. I sliced and cut and pitted 2 peaches because the third peach would be too much peach. I carefully stuck the peach wedges 'into' the goo. 

Then I stuck it in the oven for 35 minutes. at that point the edges were burning so I quickly pulled it out to cool. once I could touch the cookie sheet, I realized everything was stuck onto the silicone mat.. hooray.. 

so that took extra effort to carefully pull it off in one piece..

I wrote on my Avon brochures in an attempt to put them at the laundromat while he was teaching.
I was also going to stop by Dollar General and Ace while he was teaching.. 
all I did was bake my 'masterpiece'

Baseball and the Ballerina (1999) was adorably cute (I love Hallie Eisenberg)

the Covenant (2006) reminds me somewhat of Lost Boys mixed with Vampire Diaries. 

August 19, 2020

Well.. We didn't go to Bakersfield. She wasn't feeling up to it.. requested her script be overnighted to her.
I woke up several times in the night.. before his class, after his class, between classes. Every time I'd try to get up in the morning. I'd blink and be falling back to sleep.
Finally crawled out of bed at 9:20 because the doggies were getting wild
-- and Gwen had pooped her diaper 😩

I printed out a payment proof showing "complete" dated 7/28/2020 for the Dodge.
We'll keep that in the truck if we run any errands.

went to get a locking gas cap for the truck.. then bought chicken feed..
and several supplies at Dollar General, and groceries at the market. 

today is a very smokey day 😕  #LakeFire is up to 27K acres (38%) and #HolserFire is at 3K acres (13%)

tomorrow more fun and freedom 😝

it was a wonderful 13 anniversary day..
one of only a few where we had each other all to ourselves all day long 💗

August 18th

I had dreams all night last night that today was Wednesday. I even woke up in the middle of the night a couple times and had to really think "do I work tomorrow? did I already work my 2 days?"

I crawled out of bed way later than I should have.. just barely staying on schedule.
..and then I walked out the front door to 'yuck'. Mr grey brought me another rabbit.. this one not as "put together" as the last one.. but I knew it was a rabbit.. 2 ears, 3 feet (1 missing?), a tail, the upper half of half a head (with only 1 eye) and many organs. ugh

we started the day with 6 morning appointments and 4 afternoon appointments on the schedule..
we ended up with 7 morning appointments plus an admit, and 4 afternoon appointments.
all in all, not too bad :) 

I came home at lunch and realized that Ronnie had not seen my email about Mr Grey at 9am, so I was in luck to clean up hot dead-rabbit in the 99 degree heat.. nice...
I really need to clean that front door mat.. there have been too many kidneys and intestines.

a little shih tzu from work is saying good bye on Friday. he's been in kidney failure for at least a year now. the owner has been keeping him afloat with sub-q fluids.. at first it was every other day, and lately it's been every day. she had me come over this past Saturday and I saw how skinny he is. I know he had started losing weight because he did not like the prescription food she was feeding. at that point it was a matter of "feed him whatever he will eat".. as time went on, he wasn't liking the yummy stuff anymore. he started eating his prescription food last week -- too little too late. he has reached the point that it is a matter of "quality of life". he is barely holding on.. but what is he holding on to? 
made me think of my girl.. my last dog before her had always slept with me.. and when he was nearing the end, that one night, he left in the middle of the night. I felt him jump off the bed and figured he went to eat.. or drink.. or potty. when I got up in the morning, he still wasn't back in bed. once I got up, he found he had passed. now, with my girl, I wanted her to make the choice. I wanted her to leave when she was ready.. but as time went on, she wasn't making that choice.. she was a zombie -- literal.
Bandit is the same, he can barely walk.. his back end flops down.. or he falls over while walking.. mom hopes he will make the choice to go, but he doesn't seem to be. 
I am not working on Friday so I won't be there to see him.. but I might make the trip out there, just to say my good-byes. 😢

tomorrow I might go to Bakersfield with a friend. I'm not going to want to get up -- I know myself. frequently I do wake up early on my days off.. but I usually lay in bed until "normal time". Ronnie has an 8 am class, so I'd probably be up for that, to occupy the furrs and feather.. then perhaps I'd do like I did last weekend and feed all the furrs and feathers before heading out.
but -- his class is finished at 9, at which point we'd actually barely be leaving for Bakersfield.
it's my (our) anniversary tomorrow so I don't want to spend the day away from home. 
perhaps I'll oversleep/sleep in 😉

so, yes, Ronnie is already in bed. the fool that he is, he scheduled a Wednesday class yesterday afternoon.. but instead of suggesting 4p.m., he suggested 4AM. when he realized his mistake, he offered to trade the a.m. for a p.m. -- they declined and decided to keep the AM 😫
and, again.. the fool that he is, he did not take a nap today.. so tomorrow (our anniversary) he will probably be sleeping 99% of the day.
but that's okay. I'd really like to research some recipes and make something myself for once. I know he is the one who's home all day long, when I'm gone for 13 hours.. but that's only 3 days out of the week.
my days that I am home, I'm home! I might as well help out.. if even just a little.

August 17, 2020

sleepy. I was awake at 4.. and 5.. and 6.. and 7..

he had 2 classes today.. one class at 9, and one at 5 in the afternoon.
tomorrow he was going to drive to Simi to visit his dad he hasn't seen in 34 years, and to visit a friend from elementary school.. but it's a far trip in hot hot climates..
he would take my car, so I would drive the big clunky stinky truck
joking.. I like that truck.. but it is big, and clunky, and stinky.
I am however very frustrated because I paid the tags on it 7/28 and we still haven't gotten the sticker for the plate.. that's just mildly frustrating. I'll have to figure out how to prove that to an officer if I get pulled over. for the time being, I'll print out "proof" of payment completed 7/28, 

we started the day with 8 morning appointments and 5 afternoon appointments. 
it turned into 9 morning appointments (including 1 euthanasia) and 6 afternoon appointments (including 1 who didn't show..)  1 cancelled appointment was replaced by an admit.. then another cancelled appointment was replaced by another pet from the family of the admit..

Gwen is officially in heat.. first day bleeding. her spay surgery is in 11 days.

another fire started today.. about 60 miles away. 1,100 acres, but 0% contained.
the one that started last wednesday is 63 miles away.. now at 19,026 acres, and 38% contained.

tomorrow is another fun-filled day of 6 morning appointments and 4 afternoon appointments.. i'll see how that turns out..

August 16th

I was up way too late last night.. but I was enjoying myself and the hours just flew by.

Fed the cats and chickens (after I fed myself).. then I fed the dogs so they'd stop following me everywhere. I love my shadows, but they are trip hazards (this is why I feed the cat as soon as I can).

Lebowski: 1 pouch of Pedigree Filet Mignon with a NuVet vitamin and some scrambled egg.

Guinevere: 1 jar BeechNut chicken and gravy with 1 pouch MoistNMeaty with a NuVet vitamin, 2 FleaTreats, and some scrambled egg with pieces of pork chop.

Charlie Brown: 1 tub of Bella grilled chicken with 1 pouch MoistNMeaty with a NuVet vitamin, a FleaTreat, and some scrambled egg.

I had a Google Meetup with my family for my mom's 80th birthday. My brother and 1 of my sisters went up to visit yesterday morning until this morning. They stayed at my sister's friend's cabin (which my mom did not approve of) to keep my parents safe from any cooties. Ron and I got ready and were sitting in our seats for the call. I tried to connect twice but no one on the other end would connect. So I grabbed my cell phone, but had to wait for it to start up.. and then I had to let my email update.. once I found the email, I had to add the app. meanwhile all my other app notifications and texts were coming through, including text messages asking "why isn't anyone on the call" "where is everyone?" so we were about 20 minutes late - BUT I was not the last one on.. in fact, I was 3rd out of 6.

Today we were going to load up the truck for the dump (trash cans are getting way too stinky in this heat!) but I will be driving it on Tuesday and I don't want to bring all that stink with me to work. Tuesday he is driving down to Simi to (possibly) see his dad and visit with an elementary school friend. That is his day off from teaching because we are supposed to have a power outage that day. I am off work Wednesday - Friday so we may do the dump run Thursday or Friday, between his schedule of classes (whatever they may be).

I watched a police chase on 210. young girl driving, young boyfriend passenger.. the young girl was also a missing person. it was very Benny Hill-ish. the police never put out a spike strip.. or pit maneuver. but she drove around one turn slightly hitting the back bumper of a passing car. then she was done for. that poor car though.. the one she hit. ripped the trunk open and stuff was spilling out. her car she was driving was stolen -- hope those people had good insurance to cover the damage.

watched the Contractor (2007)

Mr Colonel Sanders at work (Barred Rock rooster) was most likely dumped. A man when to our local shelter 2 weeks ago to dump a rooster -- however our shelter can only take in dogs and cats.. No coincidence that is the same day that Colonel Sanders appeared at the parking lot at my work -- 2 buildings south of the local shelter.  Poor rooster will probably go to the county animal control tomorrow, now that we are fairly certain he has no home looking for him. 

August 15, 2020

This morning, I went to Nancy Jane's to give Bandit some sub-q fluids. the poor boy has multiple issues, and is nearing the end of his life, but mom wants to make him as comfortable as possible until he "goes".

Ronnie only had the 1 class at 9a.m. so that was the opportunity I took to make my "quick" trip to Nancy Jane's. I fed Critter in the kitchen so she wouldn't race up and down the stairs vocally while he's trying to teach. Then I grabbed all 3 bowls of the dogs' food and set them up on the back deck. Grabbed the chicken slop and put Mr Grey's food pouches in my purse. Went out the back door, set my purse and keys on the ground and quickly gave the chickens their slop. Then squeezed out the side gate, onto the front porch to feed Mr Grey and was on my way. 

Since then I've gathered 5 separate chicken eggs, and had 3 downpours with thunder and lightning.. including several (hundred thousand) visits from the hummingbirds. I put together my CritterBugg's new scratching tree and unloaded Dude's birthday box.. along with 4 new face masks from Avon, and Chewy food packs. 

I thought we were going to go to the auto parts store today for a locking gas cap. Ronnie thought we'd go tomorrow.. then realized tomorrow is Sunday so the auto parts store would not be open. I thought we'd go to Simi tomorrow but that's possibly not happening. He may go it alone on Tuesday (I'll be working..)

I tried to watch 2 separate movies, both were sub-par.. 

So tomorrow we may be just going grocery shopping, cleaning around the house.. 
I'll know what I'm doing when it happens.. maybe..

August 14th

another crazy day at work. 
we started the day with a schedule of 3 morning appointments and 3 afternoon appointments. 
then things got crazy.
we all joked around that someone must have said it was a "light day" or an "easy day" 😒

an appointment from yesterday, who didn't show up, and was called to find out what happened (he had no ride), he walked in at 9am. his dog has been lethargic, off balance, diarrhea, and had a big squishy belly. upon exam and xrays, they found his heart was 90% of his chest cavity! 😲
owners came in back and we all thought they were going to say good bye.
however they had been approved for financial assistance, and we packed him up to send off for referral to a 24hour emergency facility. thankfully our first appointment of the day had cancelled and he was able to take the first appointment slot of the day.

next appointment of the day was a 68# 8-month old Labr-adorable

then while the majority of us were on a lunch break, another emergency walked in. his owner was taking him and his brother for a walk when he suddenly fell over, had a seizure, and went limp. his owner was sure he had died, but he woke up (must have passed out) on his way to the hospital. his course of food had been changed due to a diagnosis of lyme disease and he was avoiding taking his heart medicine. so we got him back on track with his meds and sent him and his mom on their way.

but we had also received an early-morning (6:15 a.m.) text message about a dog from vegas who was most likely going to be saying good bye.

we also had another client come in unscheduled to say good bye to their dog. they had an appointment on Tuesday, but went back and forth on whether to delay the unavoidable. they decided today was the day. the vet received prior records (we had never previously seen this dog) and was evaluating the information between our other multitudes of appointments. her issue had previously been assumed as kennel cough, but it never went away.. now presumed as possible stroke -- (also) being lethargic, falls over, stumbles, twitches, slight head tilt. don't know what was found but it was determined to be in her best interest for quality of life to say good bye. 

then, a dog we haven't seen in 6 years, has been having ear issues, and today one owner noticed red bumps and spots in his ear. another Labr-adorable who 6 years ago was 115# (& 35# overweight) today is 130# -- although owner denies he is overweight. upon exam, his other ear was the bigger issue -- a foxtail way down deep.

another friendly labr-adorable came in for bald spots and red bumps. owner noticed it 4 days ago. he is on a specific grain-free diet. but he had some homemade dog treats, and that's when owners noticed the bumps. owner had noticed bumpy hairless spots on his groins and 1 ear. but upon examination, I noticed both ears have hairless spots, but 1 does not have the bumps.

another client had realized her 2 cats were overdue on care. she brought them in for labwork and annual examination. easy-peasey appointment. one cat was a bit grumpy but it wasn't it all out brawl. 

I was happy to leave work at a semi-reasonable hour. the vet actually asked if we "all" wanted to go out for margaritas.. 3 employees had already left.. and it's Friday -- would like to get home at a normal time and enjoy my evening.

August 13, 2020

today was a very groggy day. I felt like I had not slept at all, I looked at the clock a lot and time had not passed. and yet, I can remember 2 dreams I had, so I must have slept a couple of minutes here and there.

we started the day with 7 appointments in the morning, and 2 appointments in the afternoon.
that changed to 10 morning appointments, and 3 afternoon appointments.
we ended up with 11 morning appointments plus 1 emergency, and 1 afternoon appointment plus 1 pts.

we also started the day with a staff meeting making my work day start half hour earlier.. every minute makes a difference - ESPECIALLY when you've had zero sleep to start with.
and *someone* was in a crabby mood from the get-go. every little thing was an issue, was an ordeal. That philosophy carried throughout the whole entire day. argh..

tomorrow is 4 morning appointments and 3 afternoon appointments..
..I'm semi-curious how much that will change.. 

August 12th

Wednesday freedom. I already fed the chickens but ran out of time to feed the cats. both are right by his "classroom" (separate from each other) and both very vocal.. so I had to wait to feed them after his first class. today he was supposed to have 3 classes, so I *thought* we would be visiting cousin Tracy.. nope, never happened. 

the internet was out this morning. I don't know how long for, but it went out again from 1:55-2:40. good thing his 2:00 student canceled (so he really only had 2 classes today). he has a new student from 5:00-5:45.. a guy from Argentina.

we cleaned the upstairs fish tank. now it's MUCH clearer. and scrubbing around, got the shrimp all excited so they are swimming all over to clean! clean! clean! I always think of things to do when I'm at work, so I look forward to accomplishing them when I'm home. And then I'm home, and can't think of where to start.. then I come up with a plan once I'm already back at work. 😠

One hummingbird feeder is already empty.. I think everything evaporated. I moved the small feeder to the back and the big feeder to the front -- then realized I have no way to hang the big one in the front -- other than putting it back where the small one was.. in which case it would just evaporate as well..

Still need to figure out the bird bath in the front yard. right now it just looks like a random lamp stand in the front yard 😒 but, hey, it's not like our front yard is all that glorious to begin with..

every day there is a fire near us. near as in about 10 miles away. sometime it's closer than 20 miles. but still near enough to make an impact. there has also been daily fires near where I grew up. today there is on off Rocky Peak, near where I was. now there is a fire at Lake Hughes, near where I am now. 

during his 5PM  class, I watched Black Beauty (2015). it gets harder and harder to find good movies, movies that aren't "cheesy". this was a good one, a really good one. 

A Bear Named Winnie (2004)

The Flying Machine (2011)

August 11, 2020

ah... we went to bed at 11:30, I woke up a couple times in the night. I woke up at 6:30 but that was TOO early to get up, so fell back asleep until 7:40. Then I couldn't wake up as easily 😔

we started the day with 4 morning appointments, and 3 afternoon appointments.. then we got up to 7 morning appointments and 5 afternoon appointments. we were going to have a euthanasia to end the day, but the owners couldn't do it yet.. they need more time

I got a headache as the afternoon wore on.. it was not fun.. our last appointment of the day was a complete surprise. she arrived at 5 minutes before closing, as an emergency -- she had called in first, and Sandy advised her to come in. she had an appointment yesterday -- exam and an allergy shot. she was fine in the morning.. but when owner came home at 4, she was not herself. 

August 10th

ah.. a restful Monday. I like it.
We went to bed at 11:33.. woke up at 9:30. it was fantastic!
I actually woke up at 8:40 (with a few wake-ups in the night) but lay there listening to Dodger Dog barking next door for another hour, half asleep - half awake. Then I lay in bed for another 20 minutes before getting up to shower. In the shower, my right index finger was going numb. I would have guessed it was something with how I was sleeping -- except it was fine before going into my shower, and fine once I came out of my shower.. so something about the hot water, or how I moved my arm to wash my hair was cutting off circulation I guess 😬

Today we were planning to go to see cousin Tracy in town.. she has the same feelings Ronnie does about his father.. about what kind of man he is. We also planned to go to Simi on Sunday to see him.. but I'll see if plans change. We slept so long today, and Ronnie has class at 2, that there may not be enough time to see Tracy and Chuck now. I was kind of leaning towards "I can't go to work because we have family plans.." well, that didn't really happen.. 😏

I really do love being home.. my "work" life really cuts into my "home" life.. and I don't really have an options to change that. I have thought long and hard about school to change my profession. It's not something I'd be able to complete by year end (less than 4 months away..) and the way I 'feel' on my days off, I don't think I'd be accomplishing much school, thereby making it take even longer than it has to.. torturing me because I hate school.. always have.. 
My other conundrum is that I am paying all the bills.. my debt to income ratio might be wearing thin. If I don't qualify for student loans (or qualify for an affordable interest rate) I'll be torturing myself more with extra debt to pay back. So I don't know how well that will work out.

I'm still mad that my work interrupts MY time off to try to get me to come in to work. Being home, I don't think about work, I don't stress about work.. and then someone messages me, and I get sucked back in and all stressed out 😞

During his first class I watched Accidentally Engaged (2016). it was a typical Hallmark kind of movie.. small town girl, big city actor.. I liked it, but it is at that level of entertainment.

During his 2nd class I watched Good Boy (2003). I've watched it a few times, always a good one 😊 I mean, how can I not love a dog movie?
I finished a candy apple I started a couple months ago.. it was covered in caramel and chocolate with little m&m type candies. I had eaten most of the m&ms and most chocolate leaving a bit of caramel on the granny smith apple. just finished off the rest of it today. it was sweet, but nothing is too sweet for me ((afterwards I had several spoons of chocolate fudge sauce.. so, yeah, nothing's too sweet for me.. I only stopped because Ronnie had finished his class and was about to catch me)) 😝

Tomorrow, I go back to work.. but just for 1 day. I'm off Wednesday so I get a bit of reprieve. I like that I get breaks in between. I only work 3 days now, so I appreciate greatly that they are not 3 consecutive days.
I *should* be home by 8 each night.. I mean, I'm scheduled until anywhere between 7:00 and 7:20.  so I shouldn't still be at work after 9:00, right? right.
on my days off, we eat at a "normal" dinner time. but on my work days, I'm eating at 10:30 or 11:00. that isn't fair. I'm already hungry by 5:30.. which is really frustrating to be stuck at work waiting for my 'freedom'.

then I tried to watch Jurassic City (2015) -- couldn't get through it.. too lame 🐉🐲

so I watched Pixies (2015) -- VERY cute 🧝

I got so spoiled last week. yeah, Ronnie was super busy. but I still got to spend lots of time with him.. and the puppers and the kitty-purrs. no schedule.. just do what I wanted when I wanted.. things have calmed down a little for him, but he still has a steady schedule, classes every day.. packages every week.

August 9, 2020

aww.. the weekend. it was very odd that during my week off of work, I was up early every morning.. then my first day back at work, I had the hardest time waking up.. same with my second day back at work. 
today same.. since my 2 days at work "erased" my 5 days at home. 
I was lying in bed thinking I should probably get up and feed the furries before he had to start teaching. then the phone rang.. yep, so much for sleeping. 
I am guessing his family was having a get-together with pops in town. I overheard something about "I have classes I can't abandon"
a) not exactly in the mood to go.. and
b) he has his classes he's teaching.. and, well, not giving up now. momentum just started. 
I fed both kitties.. watered doggies and kitties. 
Later, I saw his sister had posted a pic on Facebook of both mom and dad eating out at Santa Susana Café. I guess that is what the phone call this morning was about. 

I watched Eleanor Rigby (2013) during his classes. It didn't quite keep my attention so I started working on my bird bath. It's not as "gorgeously awesome" as I would have liked, but it's still a work in progress. I just need to figure out how to connect the top to the bottom (and get it to stay there..). The top is smaller than I was picturing, so.. it might just be temporary.. I'll see what else I can find. At the other thrift store I had found a metal charger but I try to avoid that thrift store because they are pricier. But, that metal charger was exactly what I was looking for. I should have grabbed it when I had the chance. I'll keep looking.

Then I watched The Bell Witch Haunting (2013) that definitely kept my attention. What creeped me out even more was.. while I had Charlie on my lap, he kept staring at the wall next to the fireplace..
yeah, thanks.. way to get me spooked.

Music from Another Room (1998)

The Prince (2014)

Work messaged me again.. a girl from work messaged me.. she might have been exposed to Covid last weekend so they needed someone to cover on Monday. really?! 
a) I got my schedule and I made plans around that..
b) if she got exposed last weekend then she exposed all of us last week..
so I'm not going to work. too bad. too late. i'm starting to make plans these days so work can't ruin my life. work is NOT my whole life.

August 8th

Oh so exhausted today. We had 1 extra person compared to yesterday.. did it make a difference??

Saturdays are shorter days.. so there's that. (9-2 instead of 9-6) but that just means that the appointments are all crammed in to a shorter amount of time. 

Today wasn't as bad as I feared.. but we had 2 more appointments added on to our scheduled 12 appointments. I got the exam history on 3 pets.. plus helped with blood pulls and urine pulls.. and insurance papers.. and sending records.. and preparing files.

I'm still exhausted from yesterday.. 1 day off work completely erased my 7 days of relaxing "vacation"

We watched Top Secret! (1984) during dinner.. it's been ages since I've seen this movie. 
Really looking forward to my freedom tomorrow.. and Monday too 😀

Ronnie has 2 hours of classes (technically, 9-9:30 and 10:00-11:00) tomorrow. 
So, a wee bit of "me" time in the morning.

August 7, 2020

Today is my first day back at work.. I expected today and tomorrow would be punishment for not working Monday or Wednesday. and wouldn't you know it, I woke up with an upset stomach and slight diarrhea.

Well, today WAS punishment. no part of today was fun. surgery started at 2 (instead of 11 or 11:30ish).. plus we had 3 admits
One admit was a very grumpy cat. I wouldn't blame her. she has an abscess on her neck, does not like her mouth being touched, had goo in one ear (same side as the abscess). I was the only one to hold her because apparently I was the only one who could. She hated my guts though so that made life "fun".
Another admit was a 110# dog with possible bone cancer.. she is sweet as pie, but VERY large! 
I checked out 2 clients, not feeling totally 100% comfortable on how to do it.  
I cried every available moment I was not at work.. on my drive to work, on my drive home at lunch, on my drive back, in the bathroom 2 times, and on my drive home for the night.

Everyone asked if I'd heard about the rooster -- yes, of course I have.. if it were up to me I'd take him.. but it's not my say.. he would be outside Ronnie's classroom crowing up a storm.. probably not the best idea.. 

I had been asked to come in to work a little early so I could catch up on the overflow of insurance claims from Wednesday's dental hygienist. I got to work & faxed 1 claim.. then I was in back for the rest of the day. That same file also had a request to send medical records to the insurance company for a previous claim. I processed that request before leaving at the end of a LONG LONG day (12.78 hours) 😫

I am exhausted and very ready for bed 🥱
.. will continue fun-filled work tomorrow

August 6th

Today is my last day home 😳
I accomplished nothing this whole week.. well, a lot of laziness and resting. I work Friday and Saturday. And then I'm home Sunday. Possibly back to work Monday to continue the chaos from now on. 

Wish we could have had the week away that we were thinking of.. But wouldn't want to change the fact that Ronnie got all these students! That is great for him. Without this week, he wouldn't have the momentum. I hope his classwork continues on. 😊

Yesterday I found a fish supplier (goldfish) in Lockwood Valley.. not too far from me. He messaged me his number to call. Today, he contacted me at 8:45 asking if I was still interested.. uh, yes.. give me time.. gees.. 

A Suzie Homemaker is a Heidi Housewife 😀 (or is that the other way around??)

I'm using my housekeeping skills on my LAST day of "vacation". I've been doing an awesome job of keeping the kitchen clean all week.. but the rest of the house is still a tornado. So today I attempted to work on that. I wanted to try to "quietly" clean up around here since I procrastinated so so very much.

It has been crazy with wildfires these days.. There is currently a wildfire on the grapevine (Southbound I-5). That is almost 10 miles west of my house. The wind turned and you would think the fire was near our backyard.. hazy sky, smell of forest fire.. 

At the break between classes in the afternoon, we went to the market for monthly groceries. Then during class, I watched THE RUBY RING (1997) But we interrupted the movie to have a Skype conversation to Simi with Ronnie's childhood friend (1 hour and 25 minutes!) Then came PAULIE (1998) with turkey, salami, and applewood ham quesadillas for dinner. 💗

August 5, 2020

My work sends me messages to come in, come in, come in.. Saturday one girl was asked to message me to come in Monday. Yesterday, one girl messaged me if I can come in Wednesday (today). All would have been well and good in that I'm "out of town". But my Ronnie say Cat's Joe at the mini-mart. 

And now my cover may be, probably, blown.. I'll find out when I get to work Friday. I've been hiding out all week so I wouldn't run into someone from work.

I wish we could have had a real vacation. But I wouldn't change his job. He has students and that's AwEsOmE! I don't think we'll ever get a vacation again honestly. This week, I had wanted to do Solvang.. or Ventura.. or Big Bear.

So.. today he has 7 classes.

First 1 at 8:30-9:00.
Then 9:00-10:00

Then he has a break from 10-11.

Then 1 from 11:00-12:00.

Then we wanted to go grocery shopping (long long long overdue) but he took a nap instead.
Then a class from 3-3:30.
Then a class from 4:00-4:30.
Then a class from 4:30-5:00.

Then a class from 5:00-6:00.

Busy, busy boy.

I watched a movie from 4-6.. 

I was grooming Gwen during his 8:30-10:00 block of classes. I had already trimmed most of her, and shaved her belly (spay on the 28th).. I trimmed up her thighs a bit more, and cleaned up some spots I'd overlooked. then I focused on her ear pads.
Shortly after we got her, I had tried banding. she fussed so much over it, that she pulled out some hair on her right ear. Since then it grew back thicker (and white) and matts up so easily now. so I went through and cleared the matts on both sides.. plus I cleaned under the ear.. where the dirt and wax and grime clog up her hair. 

Next I brushed out Charlie's back. He's trimmed pretty short, but I had noticed some little balls of dead hair. And I combed his ears (he does not sit as still as Gwen.. so it was a "rushed job"). Then I combed Dude's ear. Both boys I combed the ear flap, and combed out the underpart of dirt and wax and grime. 

Last week I bought a hummingbird feeder at the thrift store. I had another at home that I hadn't been using. I filled up both on Monday.. but still hadn't found the right spot for the big "new" one I'd bought. I had it out on the ledge since Monday. the sugar-water was getting warm, but there was one hummingbird that was very impatient with me trying to find a spot. I brought it back inside to get a hook and holder for it. He was fluttering around waiting for me to come back. Now I have it hanging on the back porch light for the time being, and didn't see him for hours. 😑 
He did eventually come back, so I hope he tells ALL his friends. I haven't seen any hummingbirds at the feeder off the front deck.. but that one is almost out of my line of sight. I think the only way to get a good look at it, is to be out there -- in which case, no hummingbird would ever come by.

So now on top of the unclaimed rooster that is at my work.. there is a 10-year-old female desert tortoise in Westlake who needs a home. I want both.. technically, can I take both? probably not! But, a girl can dream.

My friend asked to meet at the thrift store. I didn't have much time because I wanted to be home between classes. I found a scrub, and a tank top.. a little chicken pin-cushion and a stuffed bat.. plus 2 pieces I can use for the bird bath I'm making. I was hoping to find a stainless steel frying pan, but no luck. I found some other frying pan, but it looks like it would just be a mess, food sticking all the time, so I passed on that one. I never even did see my friend while I was there. By the time I left, she hadn't shown up yet.

I also took apart the seams on some old scrubs. I'm going to use them for fabric to make something. I don't know what, yet..

He thought he'd get a break between the 3:00-3:30 class.. and the 4:00-5:00 class.. but he was wrong 😜 The 3:00 person spoke Spanish.. like, 99.99999% Spanish. So he spent most of his time translating what he was trying to say. He had a review/testimonial that was Spanish, so this girl thought "oh, he speaks Spanish!"  argh.. So, that class ended up running long.. With just about 5 minutes to spare to his next class (potty break!!). So I didn't see him again until after 6.

With dinner we watched The Impossible (2012)  It keeps you on your toes!! True story. I can't even imagine going through that!

August 4th

ahh. today I woke up early.. again..

odd how on my work days I cant get up on time..

but on days off, I'm up with the sun..

oh well, longer day to accomplish more.. maybe.. possibly..

Today Ronnie had 2 classes. an 11 and a 4:30. 

I didn't watch a movie with the 11:00 class.. was busy trimming Charlie's hair. 

Yesterday I'd done Dude's hair (left his feathers and skirt.. might still chop that off though)

For Charlie I trimmed his body, but kept from elbows and knees down.

I still want to trim the bottom of Charlie's and Dude's feet. 
..prevent the foxtails and dirt being transferred about.

I also trimmed Gwen.. just the body, and kept from elbows and knees down.

Her feet are already shaved poodle feet.. because, well, she's a poodle.

I still have to trim Gwen's and Charlie's butts. 

Dude's butt was trimmed on Sunday when he presented his poopie butt to my face!

Then.. 

Ronnie has 5 (FIVE) classes tomorrow 😯 

1 class Thursday (so far..) 

3 classes Friday 

2 classes Saturday 

1 class Sunday (so far..) 

1 class Monday (so far..) 

1 class Tuesday (so far..) 

..leaving his Wednesday (12th) open. 

I don't think we'll be taking a vacation at any time soon 😆

during his 4:30 class, I watched THE VAULT (2017) but the person flaked.. no show..

My work gets in random animals occasionally. the kind that are not just pets for appointments.

We had gotten our awesomely sweet little "Chicken Fry" this way.

Last night they found a rooster in their parking lot, in the dark.

..a GORGEOUS Barred Rock rooster.

So far, unclaimed.. I would take.. would LOVE to take!

He would be stuck in with 9 girls (he'd be in heaven! they'd go bonkers!)

He would also be outside Ronnie's classroom window.

Probably crowing all day long (like he is currently doing at the vet's office)

hmm.. decisions.. decisions.. 

Ronnie had a guy message him to talk right away.
The guy asked for a trial class, requesting a lesson invite.
However on lesson invite, you can not select "trial lesson" so they did a 'real' lesson.

woowee! he's getting the good bucks now!
Pretty awesome 😁

ha ha!

and his Wednesday jumped up to 7 (SEVEN!) classes!

August 3, 2020

okay, today were Ronnie's 4 classes. 

1 student at 8:30-9:00 & 1 student at 9:00-9:45 I watched KID COLTER (1985)

then 1 student at 4:30-5:00 & 1 student at 5:00-5:45 I watched GREYFRIARS BOBBY (2005)

we had a leak in the greenhouse hydroponics. we have a foam insulation panel in a water bin on top of a water bin.. a label fell off the foam insulation and clogged the drain from one bin into another bin. so the top bin overflowed. thankfully we have drainage in the greenhouse that drains to the dirt outside. so we just had to clear the clog and refill the bottom bin. easy fix but wish we had caught it sooner than we did.

.. next was a Jodie Foster movie from 1977

.. then came BEYOND BEYOND (2014)

a few of our chickens have been broody. one bitty, Lavender, I let be broody for awhile because she wasn't mean about it. but if they are broody, they don't lay. 

SO, out she went Sunday. 

every day I have to kick her out. 

and she still steals the eggs so I have to "steal" them back. 

but we only get maybe 2-4 eggs a day... from 9 chickens. 

they aren't molting so we should be getting close to 9 eggs a day.
I had planned to sell what we got. can't do that if we barely get enough for ourselves to eat.

they will be slowing down in winter so now's as good a time as any to be laying

I need a hobby. once i'm back at work next week (technically the end of this week) i won't have the time to come up with one. so i need to start one now. 

the hydroponics isn't really my hobby. i just help. i have no green thumb. not even a brown thumb.

i had hoped that sewing would be my hobby.. but even that is "iffy"

tried dog first aid kits.. that fizzled

baby onesies.. that fizzled

tried eBay -- nobody is buying any 😒

Ronnie shoveled out the ragweed in front, while I pet Mr Grey.
we found out that the neighbor had brought us some bbq food a while back when he had a party.

bummed we missed out. we gave him some eggs to be neighborly. 

he's a quiet guy but he looks out for us, as we look out for him as well.

movie to end the night: IT FOLLOWS (2015)

tomorrow we go grocery shopping.. groceries can only last so long

August 2nd

another fun day. I never even left the house.

vacuumed and cleaned linoleum floors upstairs.

then movie after movie

first on PlutoTV, and then on Roku.
(Sundays are always movie day.. movie after movie..)

PROJECT ALMANAC (2015)

NO ESCAPE (2015)

CHANGING LANES (2002)

tomorrow Ronnie has 4 classes (FOUR!) so we are going to bed early. 
I wasn't scheduled at work from Monday through Thursday so I will make the best of my free-time. 
I think I might be bored a lot on Monday 😐
8:30-9:00

9:00-9:45

4:30-5:00

5:00-5:45

August 1st

awww.. a new month.

 I want to make a habit of writing something about my day.. a journal, a diary.. how a blog would normally be.

so a rather twisted turn of events.

I was originally working 5 days a week, and I "advanced" to a new position and worked 4 days a week. 

well about 2 months ago now, I changed to 3 days a week.. it was my own request, and it wasn't an easy one. I was exhausted working such long days, 4 times a week. my days home were literally spent recovering so I'd have the energy to go back and do it again another week. 

then Covid happened, and I was even more tired.. our schedule did not lighten up - in fact there were even more appointments, and the workday seemed endless. I was out for a week while I waited for test results (I didn't know fatigue was a symptom until that moment). test results were negative and a week off work didn't make me feel any better. blood test -notmal.. still felt like "crap".

so I "advised" her that I wanted to change my schedule.. I had to "put in a request" since someone else had asked the same..

I wasn't ASKING for a change, I was changing.. 😤

so yay, I'm at 3 days a week.. 3 12-  or 13-hour days 😑

so I'm still a zombie on the days I'm home.. an un-productive zombie 😭

August

Gladiolus, Poppy

Sardonyx, Peridot, Diamond, Jade, Sapphire.

Friendship, Conjugal Felicity

Orange, Red and light green

so I guess my kitchen towels will be Orange, Red & light green 😁

Ronnie had a class 9:30-10:00, so I raked the chicken coop & cleaned up doggie poops.. trying to be productive but quiet (right outside his working window). they ended up scheduling every Saturday all month long - 9:30-10:00. so when I'm not working, I'll be quietly cleaning 😊

hung out with a friend today.. 

went to Tejon Outlet Mall, and then hung out at her house with her kitties, talking.
it was incredibly simple and fun 😍