Monday, February 7, 2022

So I guess we all know we should call on Diane S' husband if an unusual implement is needed during a project! LOL!

The Apache Trail drive yesterday was fantastic! The views were wonderful and the little town of Tortilla Flat made us feel like we were in a cowboy town. So cool to sit on a real saddle at the bar. Mike lived here for 2 years for work around 2010 but had never been on that drive. Speaking of cowboy town, people here really do walk around in cowboy boots and hats. Though I kind of like them somehow I don't see them fitting in on Cape Cod or in Florida. I am interested in getting a silver and turquoise bracelet though as a memento.

Today we are taking another hike with Justice that is supposed to include some tunnels and unique rock structures. Then off to a Ruth Chris steakhouse for dinner (Mike's favorite). Lots of leftovers I am sure - I got 3 meals out of my breakfast yesterday (breakfast and dinner yesterday with one portion left). Oh, one other thing about here vs. the beachy climates I am used to - my wardrobe of many Lilly Pulitzer and Tommy Bahama clothing just doesn't fit in. I am re-wearing a couple of black dresses with a denim jacket when I want to dress up a bit as they seem to fit in better.

Have a safe and healthy Monday!

Puppies are gone, except for Charley (the little yellow puppy girl). My brother teased me because I am recycling names. When I was 13 I got a puppy from the Oakland SPCA. His name was Charlie. Anyhow, Charley had a rough night. She did not enjoy being without her siblings I think and she did not enjoy being crated - even though I put her in a big dog crate. I am tired!

I think I mentioned I started with a new chiropractor. The treatment plan is intense - spinal decompression three times per week for a month along with adjustments 3 times per week, then 8 weeks with 2 adjustments per week followed by ongoing weekly adjustments. I am also getting new prescription orthotics. I start today. I decided to pay for the entire year of treatment upfront because I get a pretty good discount for cash up front. (This is pretty standard practice with private chiropractors.) After the year then it's just maintenance which will be billed monthly.

Eating was "eh" over the weekend. Given the weekend, that's not surprising.

Big news is one of our house guests brought along pot cookies unbeknownst to his wife. He left the guest room door open, his duffle bag unzipped and Blitz found his cookies and ate them. 1/2 a cookie is enough to get a grown man in a stupor and Blitz ate 2, maybe 3. My poor dog was miserable for a full 24 hours. I did talk to an online poison control vet yesterday morning because I thought Blitz would just sleep it off, but he didn't. He was wobbly and really very much not himself. His back end was really weak and he rocked back and forth standing still, eventually sort of collapsing into a lying position. THC affects dogs quite differently than humans! Apparently, since so many states have legalized pot this type of poisoning is very common. Luckily, Blitz didn't eat enough to warrant hospitalization, but I readily admit I got a bit worried yesterday morning.

Neither Ron, nor I do any recreational drugs at all and I don't drink wine or liquor, so we have never had this kind of situation come up before. It was unnerving to say the least.

Liz, I think most of us have an acclimation of sorts to the type of "biome" in which we have grown up and lived. I HATE the east coast humidity. I think even Massachusetts is horribly humid. Heck, I don't like Long Beach summer mornings when it's humid with the fog. I much prefer the inland dryness of the western states. It's what I know and love. I think the Arizona desert has little appeal esthetically. New Mexico is prettier, but I still wouldn't want to live there. I think the most beautiful area of the country is the eastern seaboard west to Ohio and Kentucky, but it's just too damn humid for me. Maybe if I lived near the beach I would be okay, which is perhaps why I like Delaware.

Wishing all a good week ahead.

Hey Peps, sorry Blitz got sick

Wanted to tell you that a friend of mine was walking his Schipperkee (I know misspelled) and while out for a walk the dog got wobbly and appeared to be seizing. Vet said it was immediately obvious it had gotten into some canabis. Edibles or roaches dropped on the street by a school. Anyway that dog is fine now but apparently there is a distinctive set of symptoms that the vets here in Humboldt county recognize. Glad Blitz is safe. DS

Interesting about Biome familiarity. I love humidity (as long as the temperature isn't too hot). The closest I have experienced to this dry air was in Pleasanton CA once in October and once in July and I don't think it was as dry as it is here. I keep putting moisturizing cream on and my sinuses keep drying out. Maybe I will acclimate a bit over the month?

I don't know if I ever told you about my former Chihuahua Chiquita's experience with THC? DS was cleaning a bong (is that what it is called?) and some black stuff had dropped onto the side of the dog bowl. I saw it just as she was licking it off but didn't know what it was. A while later she started making these really weird movements that made me think she was having a stroke (she was 15 or 16 at the time). After a while she fell into such a deep sleep I could barely tell if she was breathing. I lay down with her in my bed and fell asleep thinking it might be her last night until about 3 in the morning when I woke up to a chihuahua standing on my chest and staring into my face expectantly. I took her downstairs and she drank a bunch of water but then was her normal self. When I told DS what had happened he laughed about our very stoned Chihuahua.

PS - I live about 20 minutes northeast of Pleasanton. See why I don't mind the dry???

Phoenix humidity right now is 11% (it's 14% at my house now). When we get Santa Ana winds here, our humidity can drop to 1 or 2%. When it's like that, I will shove Aquaphor up my nose to keep it from bleeding!

Wow! I can't imagine it any drier than now.

Peps, I don't like that your houseguest left any food where your dogs could get it. I think its standard practice to never let someone else's dog injest things unless specifically given permission. Glad your dog is okay.

Peps, you're probably right about you like what you grew up with. I live in 2 very distinct climates: Arid Tundra, which becomes subtropical (in temp, not flora) in the summer. Some people here LOVE winter. Not me. I love, love, Florida's flora, and Spani****alian Architecture, and Mediterranean food. My daughter calls me a fake Finn. When I arrived in Brazil as an 18 year old, I thought: this. This is what I want. It was nothing like the Scandinavian culture I grew up in. So my natural conclusion: past lives. :) Clearly all my lives have been in the Mediterranean until now. It's the only explanation.

Speaking of climate, the heating system was not working at my school this morning!!!! Little by little rooms around me started to get heat, but mine never did. By the end of the day I was wearing my coat. My winter coat. Talk about my worst nightmare!!!! I hate being cold. Tomorrow I'm bringing my spaceheater. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

Feeling pretty good about what I ate so far today. I will be having a taco salad for dinner. There are no treats in the house, so that helps.

Yeah, being cold is miserable!

I had my endocrinologist appointment today and had to be weighed. Argh. Work. To. Do. I'm going to dinner with a friend tonight, so apparently that "work" doesn't begin tonight!

One of my current projects is cleaning my travertine tile floor grout. The electric scrubber is working magic, but still hard work! I think the cleaning people inadvertently move dirty water around and it settles and dries on the grout.

Boring update, sorry!