Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Tuesday

Bleah. My first real confrontation with Daylight Savings Time--I had to pry myself outof bed to get Taenzer to the vet by 9:00. Tomorrow is the day I'm going to work this week, so I'll have to be there by 8:00. grooaaannnnn

Taenzer redeemed me at the vet. She was very, very good. It was very quiet since it was so early. She did not pee in the waiting room, or poop (when she's very stressed or excited, she lets go with this runny green poop). I had her do some simple things--sit, paw touch, nose touch, watch--and plied her with treats. When the vet tech came in, Taenzer obviously knew they were up to no good, but chose the "I'm not here and this is not happening" mode of dealing with it. She sat in between my feet with her butt braced up against one of my feet, and I put my arms around her neck and steadied her head, and kissed the top of her head and told her how good she was. And she was, she didn't move a muscle. It probably helped that they got it in one stick this time.

She's gained a bit of weight over the winter, too, but not as much as Timber--67 pounds. She normally runs around 63 pounds. You'd think that extra 4 pounds would really show up, but she still has a "waist" when viewed from above, a nice moderate tuck from the side, her ribs have just a little extra covering. So I'm not too worried, and I expect she'll take it off when she can be out for an hour or two every day.

Speaking of which, you might remember that I spent a lot of time this time last year worrying about grass in the puppy pen. I'm worrying about it again. I can't decide if it's worth it to reseed or not. If I do, I should do it now, which means raking up most of the straw I put down, and keeping the dogs out until the end of April so they don't have problems with seeds getting into their paws or noses or eyes. But with my knees in their current condition, I'm not likely to take them walking; the poor creaky little things can't deal with having to brace against the pair of them pulling, esp. since they're fortified with an extra 10 pounds. But the naproxen and PT might help, and grass is just so much nicer for them to play on. I think there's a dog-walker in town--I wonder how much she charges?

I spent the rest of the morning putting together a computer cart (K-Mart, $45) that I hope will be more mobile and more compact than my current set-up. It looks as if it will hold the tower and the woofer, as well as the keyboard, monitor, little speakers, and exterior drive. It's not completely closed in back, so I'm trying to figure out how to work a shelf so I can have the printer and some storage without having something fall out the back when I move the cart. Maybe I can duct tape a piece of cardboard across the opening (leaving a space for wires, of course!). Then I could move Timber's living room crate down to the basement, since he doesn't use it much. If I wrap it in plastic, that should keep the spiders and dust out of it. Then--theoretically--I'll have more space in the living room, which will be a definite step in the right direction. I can roll the cart in front of me when I want to use the computer, which will help my back considerably, and roll it out of the way when I need to.

Dr. at 1, then groceries, with a stop at the PT place on the way home, and when I get home I'll move the computer to the new cart. I think I'll postpone the bank until Thursday. Once I have the new checking account set up, I can request the local DSL on line. I'd like to get the oil changed this week too--it's way overdue. Maybe I can do that Thursday as well.

No comments: