Monday, 5/1 Happy May Day!

It was a good day, today. I had a pleasant, relaxing conversation with some friends in the Dogo Chat last night, and was finally relaxed enough to sleep well for the first time in several days, so I woke up pretty bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning. Penny was still pretty clean from last week's bath, so I just touched up her feathers, head, and tail with a little Miracle Groom and just brushed the rest of her good. I think she's finally learning that when I torture her that way (in her mind, anyway) that she's going somewhere special. She stood pretty still for me today, and only sat down twice when I was trying to brush her tail. As soon as she saw her yellow Therapy Dog tag in my hand (I clip it on before we leave the house to go on a visit) she snapped to attention - she knows where she's going, and she loves to go.

We visited with a 5-year old - a thin little girl with huge dark circles under her eyes - who hasn't been talking or eating. Her mom brought her out in one of the little wagons they have for the kids, cusioned by lots of pillows and covered with blankets. I asked her if she'd like to pet the dog and she nodded - the first reaction of any kind today. Her mom and the program director were chatting, and I was just quietly talking to her, telling her about Penny. At one point she whispered "Penny" - first word she's said in days. Penny just sat next to the wagon with her chin resting on the side, the side of her face gently resting against the little girl's outstretched arm. I was sitting there babbling away to keep from crying, I was so touched.

Blizzard had a good obedience class tonight. She still gets excited when Chris gets down to touch her all over, but she flops over onto her back now instead of trying to get up into Chris' lap. She's still a little mouthy when she gets excited, so I've still got to work on that. She wouldn't do this to anyone else, but she really likes Chris and wants attention from her; she still has a little trouble controlling her enthusiasm, but she's getting better. I took her out afterward for her very first ice cream cone. Blizzard is a chow-hound, a real gobbler. I expected her to make pretty short work of that ice cream cone. Instead, she licked at it delicately, never gobbling, until she'd licked so far down in the cone that she couldn't reach the rest of the ice cream. Then she nibbled at the cone until she could reach the ice cream again. By the time she was finished, there was a big crowd watching us in fascination. Blizzard was oblivious - she didn't see anything but that ice cream. She's so focused sometimes, and I think I can use that ability to focus to do some activities with Blizzard later on in our "continuing education" program. I'd like to try dance; I'll have to see if anyone around here offers a class.

I also stopped at the eyeglass place today; last Monday one of the screws fell out of my "everyday" glasses and the left lens fell out. OK, no big deal - I have a second pair (with Transitions lenses, for wearing outside) that I can wear all the time until I can get in to get them fixed. Didn't get to it last week. Saturday night, a screw fell out of the second pair and the right lens fell out. Half blind, I looked for my old glasses but couldn't find them, so I used a short piece of telephone wire to hold the lens in the frame. The frames are purple, and the wire was orange. I went to the therapy visit wearing those glasses. Anyway, I stopped and got both pair of glasses fixed.

Tuesday, 5/2 Poop. I woke up to the phone this morning; it was the salon calling to cancel my hair cut appointment for this afternoon. Seems the girl who cuts my hair is having her baby today. *grin* While I'm very excited for her, I'm really bummed that I have to wait until tomorrow to have someone else cut my hair. About a week ago I reached the point where I hate my hair because it's too long on the sides and sticks out from my head, but I couldn't get an appointment until today. I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to being "light headed" this afternoon. I know it's only a 24 hour delay, but I could have used the lift a haircut would have given me today.

My head has been about to explode for about a week now. My sinuses are so plugged up my face feels heavy, and my ears are blocked, too. As far as I can tell, it's not an infection; I'm thinking maybe spring allergies. The tree pollen count is very high here at the moment, and yesterday's rain probably upped the mold count, too. I've been drinking lots of water and taking nettle, which helps, but I still feel ooky. All I want to do is sleep.

I checked my site stats last night and, instead of just checking the day's statistics, I looked at the whole last week. I was shocked! I'm getting close to a thousand hits a week! I've been "talking" about renovations for a couple of months now; guess it's time to get my butt in gear and get going! I have a 20M limit with the catatonic site and I have almost 18M of info there, so I signed up for an additional site with another 20M of space. I'm going to put the "Rogues Gallery" on the new space, and I used to have a site where I put some of the graphics I made but I think I'll move it all to the new space. Any new sections that are pretty much self-contained will go onto the new site - less confusion with linking. I'm tired of the cavorting kittens in the main section, so I want to do all new backgrounds and graphics for those pages. I need to do write-ups on ringworm, flea control, FIP, training tips for deaf dogs, etc. (I get tired of typing the same thing over and over and over and over) and I've got a ton of links I want to put into the Nutrition and Complementary Care page including some oriented toward humans. I'm thinking about adding a new message board strictly for the holistic stuff. If I do, there's a holistic vet I'll contact and ask if he'd be interested in participating.

I'm going to do a little work in here, today, and see if I can make enough room to put together the new desk that's been sitting in my spare room in pieces for 2 months now. I can't get organized until I've got the file drawers to put stuff in once it's organized, but I can't make room to make the desk until I get organized. Once I get the desk finished I can move the table and sewing machine out of here and I'll be able to get to the half of the bookcase that's currently unreachable, and I'll have even more room to organize stuff. In any case, I can't stand it any more so I guess I just have to jump in and start somewhere or I'll never get going at all.

Sunday, 5/7 Blizzard made her first (unofficial) therapy visit on Friday. Chris was doing a group of dogs at the senior center where I usually visit with Penny, so she invited Penny to come. I took Blizzard along for the ride and intended to leave her in the car, but halfway through the visit Chris said, "Give Penny to me and go get Blizzard." So, Blizz got to go in. After 5 minutes of wriggling excitedly, she finally settled down and was pretty good.

Here she is imitating a frog

It was hot and humid yesterday - way too hot for May. It was 20 degrees above the normal temperature yesterday. I didn't get a lot done - ran some errands and worked around here a little. The dogs were warm, but Blizzard seems to handle the heat better than Penny. She was still full of hell; she managed to dump the huge stainless steel water dish in the run, then she rolled in the mud it produced. By the time she came in for the night, she was pretty dirty. This evening I popped her into the tub (she's so good about staying put and standing still!) and I couldn't believe the dirt that was washing off of her. She's sparkly white again; she gets sorta grey when she's dirty, and I forget how brilliant white she really is - she's stunning when she's clean. Since I was already wet, I popped Pen in next and got her shampooed, too. Saves me from doing it in the morning tomorrow. They're both still running around blow-drying themselves.

In my never-ending quest for a urine stain/odor remover that works and doesn't leave behind a strong smell of its own, I went down to the feed store earlier today and picked up a package of Odor Disposer tablets. Each tablet makes 8 oz. of solution when mixed with warm water; I used the whole package and made half a gallon. I poured it on the "problem spot" in the living room, let it soak for about an hour, then used the steam vac to get the moisture out of the carpet. It's still damp, but the carpet smells good and there's no perfumey smell. I remember using something called Odor Mute once - it's a powder that you mix with warm water - and it seemed to do a good job, so I ordered some from KV Vet Supply this afternoon. I also went to the "As Seen On TV" site (where they sell infomercial products) and ordered some Quick'n Brite. I found out that Simple Green - my favorite non-toxic all-around cleaner - is tested on animals, so we'll see how the Quick'n Brite works. A friend has tried using hydrogen peroxide followed by vinegar, and reports that the blacklight didn't show anything when shined on the spot afterward. I know that's an effective disinfectant; it would be great if it works on urine odors too. Another thing I'm thinking of trying is a solution of hot water and Biz bleach; Biz is enzymatic and does a really good job of removing odors and stains from stuff I can put in the washer, so maybe it'll work on carpet too.

I like Sunday nights. There's a scheduled chat in the Dogo chat room and I enjoy talking with the Dogo folks. So I guess I'll go find something to eat for dinner, watch The Practice, and then join the chatters. But I'd better put the trash out now - I never feel like doing it later in the evening.

Wednesday, 5/10 Well it's been a busy couple of days! Monday's therapy visit was yet another really good visit. There was a tiny, beautiful little blonde girl (maybe 2 years old?) who was hopefully going to be discharged later that day. She was wide-eyed when she saw Penny - curious and a little scared - so I just sat on the floor with Pen and she and her mom sat on a bench for a little bit. She eventually got brave enough to come over; once she started petting Penny (and Penny just laid there on the floor, still as a stone) she began to relax. Pretty soon she was tickling Penny's legs - something that just puts Penny on cloud nine. Penny gently, s l o w l y stretched herself over onto her back so those little hands would have easier access. Then the elevator door opened and Jackson (Golden/Brittany mix) happy-danced in and scared the heck out of her. She stopped screaming pretty quickly, but wouldn't come back down on the floor for a good 5 minutes, and only then when she was a "safe" distance away from "that doggie!". Finally she decided it was safe to come back down on the floor, but only if she could sit in her mother's lap. So mom sat down crosslegged on the floor with our friend perched on her right thigh. Penny went and laid down with her back to the woman's ankles, and gently leaned back until her shoulder was in the crook of mom's legs and her head draped across mom's left thigh. Then she leaned back just a tad more until she was gently resting her upper back against our little friend. The next 15 minutes was spent with Penny splayed out on the floor getting tickled all over. Penny absolutely amazes me with her perception and sensitivity.

Monday night was obedience class. This was "game" week when Chris puts up a sort of obstacle course to practice walking on a loose lead in the face of some things they might encounter when out for a walk. It starts with a couple of traffic cones and handler and dog do a figure 8 around the cones. The next "obstacle" is about a dozen flattened plastic soda bottles of different sizes and the dog's supposed to walk through them instead of around. Then some cardboard tubes define a short zig-zag path - the dog's supposed to walk the path. Then a set of weave poles that both handler and dog weave through. Then some plastic ducks. Then a set of plungers where the handler stays on one side but the dog weaves through the upright handles. This time (because we were outside), Chris brought her agility jump and set the bar at about a foot. (Blizzard took that jump without a second thought, trot-trot-trot-up and over-trot-trot-trot.) Last a 3-foot tunnel. (Which Blizzard went blithely through, once she realized what I wanted her to do. I think I have an agility champ in the making.) I'd already decided to try the CGC test after class because I figured if she didn't pass we'd have 2 weeks to prepare for the "real" test; her performance in class convinced me she was ready. (Since Chris needs next Monday off because she'll be coming home from the Weimaraner Nationals and the following week's class is only for the test, Chris said anyone who wanted to try the test after this last week's class was welcome to do so.) So, Blizzard took the test. And passed! She did so well on everything that came before that when it came to the "coming on command" test I told Chris not to bother putting the long line on her. (Indoors, no line. Outdoors, the long line for safety.) Blizzard didn't move while I walked away from her, waited for the sign to begin moving, then came directly to me grinning all the way. She's come a long way, my little barbarian. She's got "shake" down solid now, and she's so cute when she does it - she lifts her paw up and out sideways away from her body. She's also solid on "show me your belly". I should be able to teach her to "crawl" (something she already does, sort of) and "dance" (on her hind legs) by the time we go to Kalamazoo.

I didn't sleep well Monday night; we had some severe thunderstorms come through for a period of hours, with a lot of thunder and lightening. Even Blizzard, who is spectacularly insensitive to vibrations, kept startling with the big booms. I've been in thunderstorms all over the country, but they don't make 'em like this anywhere but here. Anyway, I didn't get much more done yesterday than get out to pick up some branches from the yard. Today I ran a gazillion errands, including making a trip to the health food store for astragalus, nettle, and colostrum. I just can't seem to kick this sinus thing, so I figured I'd add the colostrum to my usual regimen and see if that will boost my immune system enough to deal with it. Stopped at Home Depot to get an old-fasioned manual weed cutter, and looked at the bags of cedar chips; I had the dogs with me so no room in the car, but I think I can "re-floor" the dog run with cedar chips pretty cheaply. That should help with fleas, later in the season. I'll have to go back in the next couple of days to get some. When I got home I put the dogs in the run and went on Poop Patrol so I could cut the grass. Dragged the mower out, then nearly tore my arm out of the socket trying to get it started. No go. I was going to call the folks in the morning and invite them down Sunday for Mother's Day dinner and "oh by the way, while you're here can you fix the lawnmower?" But mom called tonight and when I said "what are you doing Sunday" she said "Your dad thought maybe we'd come down and he'll take us out for dinner." So I said "How about this? Why don't you come down, I'll cook dinner, and Dad can fix the lawnmower?!" So we're all set for Sunday. It's supposed to rain from tomorrow afternoon through Friday night, so the grass is just going to keep growing. It'll probably be knee deep by Sunday.

Next Saturday is the First Annual Great Lakes Deaf Dogs Play Day. Jennifer (whom I met on the deafdogs mailing list) and her deaf Aussies Gwydion and Gwenhwyvar and I and my girls are "hosting" this little get-together at the dog park by my sister's house. Jen's been handling the park "stuff" (like making sure the municipal building will be open so we have access to the restrooms) and I've been handling publicity. I sent off a couple dozen press releases today to papers and TV stations (4 in Detroit, because the park is in the Detroit Metro area, and 3 here in Lansing). It sure would be neat to get some television coverage! I'm hoping for at least a dozen deaf dogs; we even have someone coming in from Indiana for the event. (Hearing dogs are invited, too - cousin Jaegermeister's coming.) There's a new listmember in the Ann Arbor area who just adopted a young deaf English Setter; I'm hoping she'll be able to make it 'cause I'd love to see Pen playing with another setter. And I'm really hoping Dolce's new moms will bring her - I'd love to see her again, and I know that Penny and Blizzard would enjoy it, too. We've been talking about this for months and now it's almost here - I'm really starting to get excited.

I sure hope the UPS guy gets here soon with the Quick'n Bright - I've got to get the house "mom-ready", so this will be a good test to see if it lives up to its claims.

Tuesday, 5/16 Early yesterday evening I had the girls out in the dog run together while I did some stuff inside. I heard Penny squealing - a sound I've never heard before - and went running to see what the problem was. There was Pen on her back, Blizzard straddling her and pinning her down with her body, holding Penny by the nose. Blizzard didn't respond to the squirt bottle (unusual) so I had to smack her hard a couple of times to get her attention and drag her off. As Pen came up, I could see blood streaming from both nostrils. I dragged Blizzard inside and into the crate, jumped quickly into a pair of jeans, grabbed a clean rag and hurried back outside. After dabbing at her nose with the rag I realized it wasn't as bad as I'd first thought - blood merely trickling instead of streaming - but I figured I'd better get it checked out anyway so I put her in the car and took off for the vet. By the time we reached the vet, it had slowed to an ooze so I'd pretty much stopped worrying.

The vet checked her out and saw two tiny puncture wounds inside the nose (one in each nostril) so she gave me some nose drops - saline solution with a little epinephrine in it, to help constrict the capillaries and further slow the bleeding. Of course, everytime Penny sneezed to rid herself of the irritation in her nose, it would start oozing again. OK, nose checked out, nose drops and prophylactic antibiotics in my pocket, I had Dr. Lynn microchip her - I was going to have both girls done this week anyway, and I figured we might as well have Pen done while I was there.

Got home around 8, turned the computer on for the first time yesterday, checked my mail, and began my "rounds". Penny curled up in the kneehole of the desk, put her head down on my feet, and went to sleep. At 10, I stopped to watch Third Watch but Penny remained in the kneehole until about 10:30 when she came wandering out to see what I was doing. It was then I noticed her right eye was swollen. I looked it over carefully - there wasn't any injury to the eye that I could see, and when I pulled the eyelid back to check all around, I couldn't find any blood, cuts, etc., but there was quite a bit of swollen tissue. Although I figured it would probably be OK until this morning, I figured it might be a good idea to get it checked out last night so off we went to the emergency vet.

Now, let me say up front that I don't like this vet. He's a slimy little guy who's very quick to throw every possible remedy in the book at whatever the problem is. He checked her eye out thoroughly, said the eyeball itself is fine, he didn't find any wounds either, and that the swelling was a result of blunt force trauma. Sort of the doggie version of a black eye. He told me he'd give her an injection to reduce the swelling and some eye ointment. When I asked "what kind of injection" he said "an anti-inflammatory".

"What kind of anti-inflammatory?"
"Something to take the swelling down"

"Yes, I understand that. WHAT DRUG?"
"Dexamethasone."

"I'd rather not use a systemic steroid to treat a local problem - is there another option?"
"Why don't you want to use a steroid? It won't hurt her - we use prednisone and dexamethasone on dogs all the time."

(Yes, I'm sure you do. But not on MY dog unless you talk to me like an intelligent human being, inform me of the benefits vs the risk, and make a darn good case of why it's better to use it than forgo it.)

"Do you think the swelling will get worse?"
"Probably not. If it does, it shouldn't get too much worse."

"Can I accomplish a reduction in swelling with a local steroid and cold compresses?"
"Probably."

So no steroid shot for Pen, just a triple antibiotic eye ointment with hydrocortisone. You know, I came home and did some research on dexamethasone: it's far stronger than prednisone, and one of the side effects is increased pressure in the eyeball. Great.

The swelling had gone down some this morning; I took Blizzard to the vet to get microchipped today, and stopped on the way home at the health food store to pick up wheatgrass (anti-inflammatory with steroid properties without the bad side effects) and 30c arnica pellets (homeopathic treatment for bruises and trauma). It doesn't seem to be bothering her at all (she's prancing around like normal), the swelling continues to go down, and she looks better, so I'm sure I made the right decision.

As far as the little tiff between the girls goes, I think it was a matter of miscommunication - in the position they were in, Blizzard was unable to see Penny's body language, and she was unable to hear Penny's squeals of pain. But you can bet your booties they won't be allowed in the run together unsupervised until I'm sure there's not going to be another problem. In fact, Blizzard's going to spend the next several days leashed to my beltloop, and I'll be watching the interaction between the dogs very carefully. She's also back on the NILIF program - Nothing In Life Is Free - and will be working for everything she gets for the next couple of weeks. She'll be sleeping in the crate, too, and she'll be crated any time I can't keep her in sight. I think she understands what she did yesterday, and has been very gentle with Penny today and very obedient, too. I made her do a 40 minute down-stay this evening and though she twisted around in that spot on the floor, she didn't leave it. We'll see how long this new obedient streak lasts.

Those press releases I sent out last week for the Deaf Dogs Play Day are bearing fruit; there was a small blurb in the Detroit Free Press this morning in the "pet calendar" section, and my co-organizer Jennifer got a call yesterday from The Detroit News for more information. (Boy, it would be really cool to get some coverage of the Play Day in the papers!) Also yesterday, I got a call from one of Dolce's new moms; I think they're going to try to make the event with "Morgan", as she's called now. (Not that it really matters what you call a deaf dog, as long as you use the same sign!) I'd really love to see her again, and I know Penny and Blizzard would, too. I just checked the 5-day weather forecast, and though it's supposed to rain for the next 3 days, it's supposed to be sunny and in the upper 60's on Saturday. Perfect weather! I wonder how big the turnout is going to be? This is exciting!

Saturday, 5/27 Boy oh boy, has the time slipped away from me! Last Saturday was cool and cloudy when I woke up - I thought "great, it's gonna be nasty for the play day,". But knowing how the weather here can change suddenly, I dressed for anything that might happen; my "Share Your Life With A Deaf Dog" t-shirt with my MSU sweatshirt on top. Got the car packed, got the girls installed in the back, and was on the road a little after 9. I stopped at Paula's just to say hi - and to use her powder room. (I love that she lives halfway between my sis and me! Especially when I make the trip early in the day and I've been drinking coffee.) I was worried about being late (a chronic problem with me) and I ended up getting to the park almost a half-hour early so I went to a florist and got a small potted plant for the dog park lady (who did a terrific job of getting us on the sign and onto local community access TV) and even had time to pick up something to eat.

The gathering was small, but congenial. Me with Penny and Blizzard, Jen with Gwydion and Gwennie, Mary (from IN) with Kip (deaf) and Dash (hearing), and Celia with Shaina, the other English Setter. Celia looked very familiar to me and during our conversation I mentioned that I'd gone to U-M and had lived in Ann Arbor. Turns out Celia graduated from music school a year after I did and once we realized that, we recognized each other! She looks the same, but I don't - for one thing, my hair's about 3 feet shorter now! It was neat to get caught up, and find out what some of my other schoomates and friends from Ann Arbor are up to. I had no idea how to reach one friend of mine, but Celia still plays in an orchestra with Lori and will exchange our numbers for us. Anyway, the play day was fun even if not hugely attended; we'll get a bigger crowd when we do it again in the fall. We got lots of pics. The ones I took begin on page 4 so I'll give you a link there, but you can get to page 1 from the link on page 5. (Confused?) http://catatonic2.freeservers.com/picnic/picnic4.html

Went to Auntie M's afterward and the dogs continued to play out in the yard until dark after which they crashed mightily on the floor until bedtime. I had to prod them both onto their feet to go to bed. Sunday was such a lovely day, the dogs were having a great time in the yard, and I was enjoying my sis's company so much that she talked me into staying an extra night and going with her to pick out some plants for her yard. I ended up getting a flat of annuals - begonias, impatiens, and alissum - and some "hanging garden" plastic bags to plant them in. By Sunday night, the dogs were really pooped. On Monday, Mel woke me up when she left for work and I got up, but I stuck around a little while drinking coffee, letting my girls play in the yard, and tossing the Kong for Cousin Jaeger. When I figured the morning rush was over, I headed home.

Shortly after I got home the phone rang; it was Nicki from Sparrow wanting to cancel Monday's therapy visit because there was only one sick kid and she didn't know if he'd be able to come. Then she asked me if we could come on Tuesday after Memorial Day (we usually just skip the week of a Monday holiday) because one of the local news stations wants to come film a pet therapy visit with the kids. Penny's going to be on TV!! Nicki thinks they want to use the footage next weekend for the Children's Miracle Network telethon. I called the groomer and begged her to squeeze Pen in for a quick head and foot trim, and she did that on Thursday. Penny looks pretty good; she'll get a bath very early on Tuesday morning, and she'll be fluffy and soft and pretty for the cameras. I printed out some information on Therapy Dogs International today to give to the reporter. Nicki asked me if I'd be willing to talk to them, so I guess I'll be on TV too. Jackson will be there with his mom, too. This is just so cool.

I had an interview with a management recruiting firm on Wednesday and it went well. They asked me if I'd be interested in temping until a permanent job came along and I said sure, so they had me talk to the temp employee coordinator. Thursday was her last day - she's moving on to another opportunity. On my way out to my car, I ran into the President of the company outside smoking a cigarette. She asked me who I'd seen; she said "Oh yes, did Amy tell you she's leaving? I'm interviewing now for her replacement." I said "How about interviewing me?" She said OK, and we set up an interview for Thursday which went very well, and I'm sure I'm going to be called back for a second (and final) interview with the "team". The money isn't big bucks, but it's certainly a living wage, and this would give me an opportunity to get some human resources-type experience under my belt. Maybe a new career path?

Penny was completely recovered from her injuries in about 5 days. I'm really amazed how well the wheatgrass and arnica worked. I've always been skeptical of homeopathic remedies, but I'm seeing for myself how well they work and I'm becoming a "believer". That arnica did one heck of a job reducing the swelling, and I'm fairly certain it helped with Penny's frame of mind, too. I've been doing a lot of reading about homeopathic treatments, and I think I may begin using some of the "staples" starting with my own sinus problems. Maybe try some different flower essences with the Terrible Trio. Punch has been less skittish lately, but the other two still don't like to come within 4 feet of me. The Mushroom has become a MushBall - he just loooooves to have his chinny-chin-chin skritched, and he cranes his neck out at me every time I pass. Bubba has been sending me mental pictures a lot recently; he comes and stands on his hind legs next to me, places his front paws on my leg, stares up at me, and sends me pictures: an empty water dish, me with my arms around him, even once a picture of sunshine on the window table - I'd forgotten to open the blinds that morning. He is so sweet, and so gentle. He wasn't quite himself for a while after his little buddy Vera died; I'm glad he's happy again. And here's a new one - Miss Lucy Maud has decided she likes Penny. She's as bad as Domingo now for rubbing herself all over Penny trying to get Penny to snuffle her. Then she grooms Penny's face in return. I'll have to get some pics.

Monday, 5/29 Happy Memorial Day! Oh, I'm so happy! I got a new used washer yesterday, and I'm busy getting things clean today. My old washer was crippled - it only agitated during the last 3 minutes of the wash cycle. To do a batch of laundry, I had to run the "soak" cycle first - it agitates for 3 minutes, sits and soaks for 12, then agitates for 3 minutes again - then catch it before it dumped the water and move it into the wash cycle, where it would agitate during the last 3 minutes of the cycle. If things were really dirty (like rugs, or muddy feet-wiping towels), I'd have to run the soak cycle twice. I'm tellin' ya - doing a batch of laundry around here was quite a time-consuming thing! Oh yeah, the cold water intake line was plugged, too, and everything had to get washed in hot water. I've got a pile of sweaters I've been wanting to do, and I've been too darn lazy to hand-wash them. And the spin cycle left stuff pretty damp, so it took a long time to dry. My aunt just moved into a new house and wanted a new washer to go in her new house, so she gave me her old, perfectly operable, washer. The first batch I did came out so nice and clean! I've got the second batch in there now. Fortunately, it's nice today and I can hang the laundry on the line. I have a gas dryer, but no hookup for it. The gas line is right there in the laundry room, and there's even a "T" for a connection to a dryer, but no actual connection. Dad's going to put a piece of flex-tubing in there and hook up my dryer for me. I really don't need the dryer when the weather's warm (though all the rain we've been getting has been making me re-think this); doing laundry this winter was a real pain, though, so I'll let Dad fix me up and then I won't have to be hanging clothes out when it's freezing. Anyway, I'm thrilled with my "new" washer - stuff is coming out clean, I have a choice of 3 different water levels, I can warm and cold-water wash again, and the spin cycle does a great job of extracting moisture. I'm going to be doing laundry all day!

I'm feeling a little better today so I hope I'm on the mend. I'll have to remember to keep taking the astragalus and colostrum even when I'm feeling better so I can lick this damn sinus thing once and for all.

I'm getting excited about tomorrow. I've got my wardrobe all planned out, got a nice new leather collar for Penny (the one she currently has on has Blizzard's tooth marks on it - Blizz likes to drag Penny around by her collar), got the shampoo and conditioner mixed up already (I'll bathe her first thing in the morning so she'll be fluffy and pretty for the cameras), and I've got some stuff on TDI printed out to give the news people. Later today, I'll "practice" some of the stuff I want to say when they interview me. I can talk to anybody, anywhere, but stick a microphone in front of me and I get stage fright. I think I'll limit myself to one cup of coffee tomorrow morning. =)

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