Sunday, August 29, 2010

The best day ever (not hardly...)

Well, to say it's been awhile is beyond obvious, but I've been working like a crazy person lately. I've gone from no job, to a extremely part time job, to 1 full time, 1 part time, to working OT at the full and every weekend at the part. The only day I have off (other than today) between now and October is Labor Day (I can't be the only one who sees the humor in that.) In this economy, I know that I am truly blessed to have this kind of opportunity. Having been taught that one makes hay while the sun shines, I work as much as possible now that it's high noon in the Sahara.
So anyway, back to the best day ever. Anyone who has read this blog before might recall that our boy was ridiculously active until he started showing the symptoms of IMHA. I am ecstatic to report (pleased just doesn't cover it) that our boy is back to his pre-disease activity level, although looking at him now, one wouldn't see it. He's asleep under the dining room table. He does his Lipizzaner horse impersonation when my husband comes home, and runs around at top speed with Crazy Monkey, playing "keep-away," not that anyone would want to touch Crazy Monkey. He's usually soggy and crunchy at the same time, the result of over-grooming by Gonzo. He plays as hard as a puppy would, ignoring the grey that has appeared in his muzzle over the last few months. Our boy is back.
However, we can't board him anymore, due to the stresses to the immune system that all the immunizations necessary would cause, which limits the choices for getaways. The joy that is Craigslist has offered up a great option: pet friendly cabin/cottage rentals. Last weekend, we rented a wonderfully quaint one bedroom cottage on the shore of a lake in the Poconos. Deliciously tacky with the 1970's camp decor, the wagon wheel hanging from the ceiling made us giggle, but the real deer head mounted on the wall made me cringe. All in all, it was just what we needed: a break from the city and our everyday life.
Being in the Poconos in late summer, I came up with an idea. We should go blueberry picking. I didn't think of this idea until Gonzo was already in the car with us, tooling around the countryside. Not sure if the blueberry farm proprietors would go for a dog wandering around with us, we set off to the office. Not a problem! Alright, so we head into the fields with our buckets and our boy. Well, it wasn't long until we realized that Gonzo's idea of fun was not "walk 3 feet, sit for 2 minutes, walk another 3 feet, sit for 3 minutes..." Our boy wanted to run around, see everything in the field, roll in that interesting smelly thing he found, and generally, have a dog day of summer. He was so frustrated with us that we only picked about a quart and an half before leaving. Poor Gonzo! Definitely not the best day ever.
We picked enough so that I can make my world famous* blueberry cake, which is essentially white cake baked with blueberry pie filling under it, served upside down. The blueberries just drip down over the cake, covering it in purpley goodness. One could cheat and use canned filling and boxed mix, but it's best when made from scratch.
Well, I'm glad to report that all of our boy's trials and tribulations seem to be behind us, and now his biggest problem seems to be getting us to believe that he hasn't eaten already, and needs to be fed (again.) Such a funny boy.

More to come, so come back if you're interested.

*not necessarily true, or even likely to be true

1 comment:

  1. Wow, that is busy! I haven't had time to write either, and it seems all the blogs I follow are suffering the same malaise.
    Good to hear Gonzo's made a full recovery! Really though, it's not that he wants another meal, he just forgot that he already ate. Dogs do not have a lot of spare room for such details in their brains. I'm not even sure mine have brains.

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