Keys and Cavies

Keys-   Saturday while Don was on his training run, after stopping at a pre-determined water stop, he found a bundle keys on a lanyard off the side of the road. He put them over a nearby bridge post and ran on. Later that day we went back over his route to collect his water bottles and I saw the keys on the post. I asked him if he knew what was going on with them and he told me about finding them. I looked over the keys, hoping to find some personal information that might help us reunite them with their owner. There was nothing of use at first glance, then I spotted a medic-alert badge. I looked at the back of the badge, there was one word etched there: schizophrenia. By this point, Don was asking me what I thought we would even be able to do, and I admitted that I didn't know, but I didn't feel that just leaving them there was the right thing to do. Truthfully just seeing that one word on the medic-alert badge sort of gave me a bad feeling in my belly. It just didn't seem right. We decided to leave them there. The next morning, when I was out for kennel duty, I went back and collected the keys. I looked again at the medic-alert badge and found a phone number at the top (it was kind of worn down, so I think that is why I didn't see it at first) and another etched number along the bottom. I got back home and we took off for the day, as it was Don's birthday and we had lots planned. I was still thinking about the keys, just a little, in the back of my mind. This morning before work, I called the number on the badge and talked to a very helpful woman, who matched the etched information with the etched id number. For confidentiality reasons the medic-alert company doesn't give out information, either way, finder or findee, and she told me the best thing to do was to take the keys to our local police department and have the police contact the medic-alert company who would then release the info to the police to contact the person. The lady at the medic-alert company was very nice, very thankful, and assured me that I had done the right thing to collect the keys and call in. Later on in the day on a work break, I ran over to the police department and explained what had happened. The counter clerk was very kind, took down the location that the keys had been found and told me that the evidence and property officer would call the medic-alert company and get it taken care of. I felt really a lot better and I am hoping for the best for the person who owns the keys.

Cavies-   Today at work we had a really randomly busy morning. "On paper" it didn't look like it was going to be crazy at all, but it was. I had lots of ordering to take care of (which is normal for a Monday), we had walk-in's (which is not normal), and generally lots going on at once. I was not nearly finished with my tasks, and the other ladies and the Dr. were nearly finished with the last procedure of the morning when I got a phone call. It was a new client calling because she was worried that her pet had eaten rat bait. Her pet is a rodent...this is a bad mix. As I began to get the details I asked to put her on hold to confirm that the Dr. was going to be available to see it and that there was actually going to be something we could do for it...I understood her to say it was a Cavy. Now, "Cavy" is another name for a Guinea Pig, an animal which we have seen before at out clinic and treated before, although not for this specific issue. The Dr. agreed that the pet needed to be seen as soon as possible, and that while somewhat limited, there were in fact treatments that could be done which may save it. Back to the phone to let the client know, get a contact number and determine her ETA. She was a 1/2 hour out, so back to my tasks until her arrival. Once she got to the clinic I had her start some paperwork and asked one of the other techs to do a visual on the pet to make sure it was stable. The tech took one look in the carrier and stood up quickly with big eyes. "Is it ok?" I asked. "Umm....yes." She said still with big eyes, then turned around and walked back to the office. I excused myself briefly from the client and headed after her. "That is not a Guinea Pig!" she said. "What is it?" I asked. "I don't know!" she replied!!!! Oh dear. Back up front I went to check back in with the client, I collected her information sheet and asked her to fill out another form with questions about how the pet is cared for, and took the information sheet back to the Dr. She had listed the pets breed as "Patagonian Cavy". I am pretty sure everyone knows what a Guinea Pig looks like....this is a Patagonian Cavy:  

              http://www.garden-city.org/zoo/animalinfo/Mammals/patagonian_cavy.htm

As you can see, it doesn't look like a Guinea Pig at all!!!!!! More like a wallaby, rabbit, deer hybrid. The Dr. hopped online to a vet resource to get some info.  Luckily they are really very similar to Guinea Pigs and we were able to treat it. The Cavy was just over 1 year old and weighed almost 11 pounds. He was a very good patient and tolerated all of the necessary treatments with out any trouble. So far he is doing well and will get rechecked in a few days to confirm that all is well.  He was very cool to see! They are very vocal creatures and have lots of different noises they make (chirps, grunts and chitters). The fur feels sort of like coarse cat fur, and is a little greasy. They have huge, glossy black eyes. Over all it was a positive experience, very startling at first, and it certainly made for an interesting end of the morning!!

Rash Behavior

Friday, just about the time we were finishing supper, I noticed my right arm was itchy. Then it was really itchy, then REALLY.REALLY.ITCHY. I pulled up my sleeve and there was a sandpaper fine rash on my right arm, then I pulled up my other sleeve...yep, same thing on my left arm. As we finished dinner the rash had spread up both of my arms and started to go to my shoulders, chest, and back. After a semi-panic-y call to my Mom, where-in we decided while scary I was not in a true emergency situation, I took benadryl as directed and a hot hot shower. My skin was severely itchy and the rash kept spreading through the night. I ended up not sleeping much (it is hard to sleep when you can not even touch your own skin with out it itching, much less bed sheets, sleeping clothes, or your partner!) and was still panic-y in the morning when the rash had advanced down my legs, even though it was less on my arms, chest and back. I am not sure but I guess I was feeling like if I kept thinking it would be gone in the morning, it really would be. I spent Saturday sleeping (benadryl) and trying to keep myself from scratching. By Saturday night it was no longer spreading, and was much improved on my top half. By Sunday, just the rash on my legs was left. Still pretty itchy, but tolerable and I was able to go run errands with Don and we went bowling together. Today I still have a little bit left on my knees and thighs, but it is less bumpy and less itchy. At this point we still do not know what the cause of the rash was. We had been having issues with the washing machine and I have a history of skin sensitivity, especially to things like laundry soap and dryer sheets. As a child I used to have a wheat allergy that manifested itself as a sandpaper skin rash. I have not had any issues with wheat in my adult life, but we did have whole wheat pasta Friday night and it was a different brand than we normally use. At any rate, the mystery rash is resolving and the next step, once I am all healed is to try it out again. We will see if trying the pasta again will have the same result or if it will just remain an unknown and hopefully extremely rare occurrence...

DON'T PANIC!!!! or How to Fix the Washing Machine

Tuesday of this week I came home from work as usual to a very quiet husband. That is not all together unheard of, Don is a pretty quiet guy, but this was a different kind of quiet. Normally this type of quiet means something is wrong, and usually it is a pretty big deal. I get in and start to get settled and try to get him to tell me what is going on. I can't ask directly, his brain just doesn't work that way, he sort of has to get to telling me in his own time. Just as we are sitting down to start eating supper he says very calmly and conversationally "The washing machine is broken." Aaaahhh. No wonder. "Oh, that sucks." I say, as super calmly as I can. "Yeah. It sucks for me!" he says back. I then explain that while not oozing money from my pores I am certain that between the two of us we can get things sorted out. By this point I can totally tell he is thinking worse case scenario, new washer and what an expense!! While we are eating he tells me that what is going on is that the agitator is not agitating, which yes, is very agitating. Ok, I think, that sounds like something maybe we can fix on our own. So after supper Don decides to take the agitator apart. Once it is apart it is clear that part of it is truly broken. So I offer to do a little online search on some websites I know of for DIY repairs and see if I can figure out what the name of the part that is broken is and if it can be done with out the help of an appliance specialist. Don finally agrees that I "might" be able to come up with something....not 2 minutes later I found a person who had posted an almost identical issue on their machine, again almost identical to ours, who had been able to fix it themselves for about $20. Ah Ha!!! Now all I had to do was find somewhere we could get the part. Not an easy task at 8pm.  I knew there were places online I could order, but I really wanted to try to find one locally so we could have our washer back. Wednesday we were both back and work and didn't have time to call around.  So this morning I called the Lowes, no parts. I called the Sears, no parts. I called the Home Depot in another town, no parts. Then I called a local appliance repair store Les's Appliance. I told the guy what I needed, described what it looked like and, "sure!" he says "we have that!" So I headed over, sure enough he had the right parts and it cost $12.50. Next I came home and fixed the washer. Just like that. It was a little challenging getting everything lined up to bolt back together, but really a super easy fix, done in 5 minutes. And I am so sure a repair guy would have charged way more than $12.50!!!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I love the chance to spend time with family, cook, play, eat, drink and just have a good time. I also like the opportunity to just remind myself of all I have to be thankful for. Really, no matter how tough my life feels, things are truly good. I have a wonderful husband, a loving and supportive family, a home to live in, clothes and shoes, a well paying job, a healthy body and mind. It is good to remember all the positive things in life all-year round, but it is especially sweet to have a day to celebrate them.

Difficulty Committing to Myself

Over the past year or so I have noticed a change in my body. I am 30 now and while I am not overweight, I have definitely allowed myself to get out of shape. I have made several attempts to get on track with some sort of exercise routine that I enjoy and will do regularly...with less than stellar results. I will pick an activity and do it regularly for a while, then things come up, or I get home really late, or I feel unmotivated and allow that to win, and then pretty soon I am sitting on the couch again. I am making another attempt to get on track. I own two yoga DVDs that I have done in the past and really, truly do enjoy. The instructor lady on the programs is really positive and there are a variety of programs to choose from. So tonight when I got home I did yoga for a half hour. I really like it, it makes my body work and I can feel the working without it being painful. I am sweaty when I am done and I know that my muscles will feel worked tomorrow. I am in a good place right now and feel like I can commit to doing yoga a few times a week. I just have to maintain and keep it up. I am not sure where the problem comes up. I care about myself and my health and I want to be healthy and feel better about myself. I just need to work at honoring this promise to myself and do the best I can.

No Plan for a Rainy Day

Well, it is wet again this morning. We were expecting a dry morning and somewhat dry weekend. Don had planned to do the lawn and get a bike ride in. That would give me time to do some yoga (without an audience) and work on a stitching project. Now we are not sure what the plan will be, no yard work or bike ride for sure. We do have to make a trip to the grocery and then are going to J's house for supper. Until then, who knows.

Summers End

I have gotten out of the habit of posting and am making an effort to choose to find the time to update more regularly.

We certainly had a nice summer this year. The definite highlight was a trip to Colorado to see my sister and brother-in-law, nieces and nephew and quite a lot of my extended family. It was also the first time Don and I traveled together on a plane and taken a vacation to see family. It was a great trip, we had many great adventures and loved seeing everyone. It was a good chance to catch up and have crazy fun family time. We especially enjoyed visiting the cabin, summiting pikes peak and just spending time with everyone. Our flat-land lungs did appreciate coming home though!

Once home, it was back to the work grind and despite the calendar telling us, it sure didn't seem like September out. We had many sunny warm days and were certainly enjoying the extra summer. This past week the rain has come back. Living here it is a given that winter will come and the rain will start. It is the trade off we have for getting to enjoy the beautiful green. It can be a bit daunting though to wake up to rain, have rain all day, and fall asleep to rain for days (ok, months) on end.

We did take advantage of the extra summer and participated in a new event in our town this year called The Draggin' the Gut Festival. In our little town the common vernacular for "cruising the main drag" was "draggin' the gut." 20 or 30 years ago the town decided this was a bad thing and passed an anti-cruising law, complete with road signs: " Driving up and down this road more than 3 times in a one hour period between the hours of...." You get the idea. So the festival was sort of a return to the golden years of draggin' the gut as well as a benefit for the local food bank. There were bands playing 60's era music on several side streets (closed off to traffic), a sock hop and live band at the McMennamins, free movies and of course a group cruise for several hours at the end of the night. We got our Ghia all shined up and headed out. It was a BLAST!!!!! We danced to some music, looked at all types of cars and dragged the gut ourselves! It was a huge turn out and seemed a success. We are looking forward to next year already!

Now we find ourselves nearly falling into November and are beginning to plan for Thanksgiving, on the hunt for good recipes with new and interesting flavors to try...we will see what we can come up with.