Moving forward

I've changed the picture on my blog. It's time to move forward. It's hard to see my Bindi's picture when I log in. I really miss her. If you've ever been owned by a dalmatian you will understand that the incredible silence and lack of mayhem takes awhile to get used to.





I am done with my first semester of grad school. I think I did well. Christmas was wonderful. My mom came up from Florida shortly before Thanksgiving and is still here. She'll probably head back to Florida on Monday. I think she needs to thaw out. We've had a record snowy December with near record low temperatures. While she was here we were really busy. She helped my son dig out his "man cave" in the basement. We went to my nephew's wedding. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas together for the first time in 23 years. She's at my sister's house right now. We are going to have a second family Christmas celebration on Saturday, so I'll get to see her one more time. The good news is that another nephew is getting married in March, so she'll be back!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Bindi

My 15 year old dal, Bindi, has crossed the rainbow bridge. I took her to the vet yesterday as she was vomiting a lot. She was happy and doing well otherwise. She had an x-ray of her stomach which was inconclusive. We started her on antibiotics and stomach meds. She got worse and worse throughout the day. My son brought home painkillers for her when he came home from working at the vet clinic. They barely touched the pain. She moaned and groaned all day and most of the night last night. So, the kindest thing we could do was have her put to sleep. Luckily, even though the clinic was closed, the vet was there this morning. We got to take her in with no other people around and spend some quiet time with her. I feel sick to my stomach, but I know she's playing with her brother, Murphy, who met her at the bridge and helped her cross.

Where has the last month gone?

We've been in school for almost 4 weeks now. We are finally settling into somewhat of a routine. I have one new student who I thought would really give me a run for my money, but he's not been too bad. I like my new classroom. We've got a ton more storage and the way the room is arranged is really conducive to teaching and learning.

My grad classes are going well. I'm doing well so far, getting A's on all projects/papers. I have 2 projects and 3 papers to write by next Wednesday. I guess I'll be busy this weekend.

The dogs are doing well. Bindi is looking older every day. Her hearing is not good and her vision is failing. However, she's still got spunk and is a complete love. Hogan was such a grump about having a new "sister" that he had to be medicated. He and Trixie are best buds now and play all the time. Gotta love puppy uppers. Trixie is almost 9 months old. She's a doll. She's playful, funny, cute, and a real cuddler. She's curious about everything. She used to be pretty shy when I first brought her home. Now she'll head out the backyard in the dark with no hesitation. Her potty training is coming along pretty well. She had a setback when I went back to work, but is now able to hold it all day, from about 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. I do put her in a large crate with toys and a bed. She doesn't screech anymore, but gets a stuffed toy and curls up.

I'M A GRADUATE STUDENT!!!!!!!!!

I found out yesterday I'd been officially accepted into the Masters of Arts in Teaching and Leadership through St. Xavier University. It's a good thing, too, as class starts tonight. I'm trying to not dwell on it. I'm nervous and excited. It's been 31 years since I graduated from college.

School starts tomorrow. We have 2 institute days, then students start on Monday. I've moved to a new classroom, so I get to be a bit more creative with the set up. My paras will help me with that tomorrow. I'm on my own on Friday. I've got most of my paperwork set up. I need to make materials for the first couple of weeks. I guess that's what I'll do on Friday.

Where has summer gone?

This has been a very active summer! I went to Florida in June, the Wisconsin Dells over the 4th of July weekend, and to California toward the end of July. I'm finally settling in at home. I go back to work in just a couple of weeks.

Let's see, Florida was fun, except for dislocating my right index finger. I go to the hand specialist in 4 weeks as I still have pain and do not have full range of motion. I did pick up Trixie and bring her home. She has really grown a lot. She's been spayed and had her puppy

teeth pulled. Her personality is the same as my first dalmatian's. We say she's Murphy, an 80 pound dalmatian, stuffed in an 8 pound body.

I went to the Wisconsin Dells over the 4th of July weekend. We had a wonderful time despite the fact that Lake Delton breached and drained into the Wisconsin River. We did go on a Duck ride down the Wisconsin River and did see where it breached. So much silt landed in the river that it was only 7 feet deep at that point so we had to turn around and not go any further up the river.

At the end of July I flew to California with a friend. She and her brother were settling their dad's estate and had to go through his storage unit. We got to do some sightseeing while we were there. We went to Santa Rosa to the Charles Schulz Museum. That was really neat. We also spent a day in Napa Valley, visiting the wineries. I've learned to really appreciate fine wine and did bring some home for a special occasion.

Bindi, the dalmatian is now 15 years old. She's really looking old. She's basically deaf. She can hear high pitched sounds and some really, really loud sounds. She barks when the other dogs bark. She's stopped making her "mooing" sound to get my attention. That makes me sad. She still has hyper dalmatian moments, though, and makes me laugh.

Hogan, the lhasapoo, has loved being with his "mommy" most of the summer. He loved going to Florida, but wasn't happy when we brought Trixie home. He's still trying to sort out his feelings. He'll go outside and hunt bunnies with her, but has no patience for her when she tries to play with him. He still loves to go "Nigh-nigh in da bed under da bankies wid da mommy" and will gallop toward the bedroom when I use those words with him. He's come a long way since I rescued him almost 4 years ago.

Then there's Trixie Jane, the yorkie puppy. She was 5 pounds when I brought her home. She was 8 pounds when I weighed her the other day. She is 7 1/2 months old now and is probably nearly fully grown. She's a character and I love her to death!

Finger update

I went to the doctor today about my poor sore finger. It's still really swollen. The doctor poked and prodded it. It didn't hurt. I told him it really only hurt if I tried to use it to turn a key or a knob. It also hurts when it gets pushed back toward the pinkie finger. X-rays showed no problems, which is good. I have an appointment with a hand specialist, but not until September 3rd. If my finger gets better before then I'll cancel. If the swelling remains, I'll get an MRI before I see the hand specialist. The doctor tried to get me to take a pain prescription, but I have a few pain pills left from my foot surgery, so I'm fine. If it starts hurting, he'll get me a prescription.
Kathy

Poor little Trixie Jane and other ramblings

Poor little Trixie was spayed yesterday. She also had several baby teeth removed. She got her rabies shot and was microchipped. She's on pain meds and I bought her canned puppy food. She's so sweet that I hate that she's this miserable, but it sure beats the alternative.

We had a bad storm last night. It was a little humorous because as the storm was getting really bad I looked at the weather watches and warnings on television. There was nothing in our county. That's the last thing I saw before the lights went out! The electricity was off for almost 8 hours. It finally came on at 3:45 this morning. I didn't realize how much noise this house makes until it powered up again.

I made a doctor appointment for tomorrow afternoon to get my index finger looked at. I really injured it a couple of weeks ago on vacation. It's a little better, but still causing pain and tingling. I can type for short periods, then it absolutely aches.

I'm leaving for California in less than two weeks. This is my summer as a traveler, I guess. I'm going with my college roomie to help her and her brother clean their late father's storage unit. Hopefully the finger won't be too bad off so I can help.

I'M HOME!!!!

I got home from Florida a few hours ago. It was quite the trip. I left on June 11th at 5 a.m. and stopped just south of Atlanta, GA around 8 p.m. (7 p.m. central time) for a total of 14 hours of driving. Whew! However, I managed to make it to my mom's in Florida by 2 in the afternoon on Thursday. Then, on Saturday I got sick with a respiratory flu. I was miserable for about 2 1/2 days, but perked up after that. Then, last week, I injured my right index finger while working in my mom's pool. My index finger got caught as the inner part of the ladder broke loose in the pool and floated away. The finger laid completely over to the right pinky finger over the top of my hand. Then there was that nasty snapping noise. I wrapped the finger and hand in an Ace wrap. It's much better, though still does hurt when pushed toward the pinky finger. It didn't affect my ability to float around the pool, though. I did bring little Trixie home. She and Hogan have created a tentative truce. Bindi seems a bit put out, though. I'll have to give her lots of extra attention. She's looking really old and seems to have lost even more hearing in the past 2 1/2 weeks. She still is a great snuggler, though, and that's what counts.
Kathy

ONE MORE DAY!!!!!!!!!

Wow! Tomorrow is the end of the school year. I'll take Tuesday to get ready for Florida, then leave really, really early on Wednesday morning. I'd love to eat breakfast in Kentucky! There's a goal to shoot for! That would mean leaving at around 3 or 4 in the morning. It's doable. I'm taking Hogan, the lhasapoo (or as we think he really is...schnoodle apso) with. He's 8 1/2 years old and a bit of a grumpy old man. I think it's best that he meets Trixie, our little yorkie puppy, on her turf. He'll have a harem of girls. My mom's corgi mix is 14 years old. She also has a 1 year old yorkie/shih tzu mix and a 3 1/2 month old yorkie puppy. If that doesn't put him in his place, I don't know what will. I'm hoping he'll be happy when we come home with only one puppy.

My college roomie came to visit today so I managed to get the entire public part of the house cleaned up. I will clean my room and the guest room on Tuesday. I'll also clean out the fridge (normally a Thursday evening job for Friday garbage day), and get that out to the garbage cans. I love leaving a spotless house so that it will be a great start to the rest of the summer when I get home. My son will be staying home as he has to work. He'll take care of Bindi, the dalmatian, the two cats, the tropical fish, and the koi/goldfish/tadpoles in the pond. It's wonderful that he's so responsible!

Latest picture of Trixie

Here's Trixie Jane, my little yorkie puppy. She's the larger one on the left. The other puppy is my mother's new yorkie puppy, Kiki. She's about 13 weeks old now. Trixie is 5 months old.

The school year that will never end

I am usually a very patient person. Lately I've been on edge with everyone. I try to not get cranky, but I am very cranky these days. I think it's just the end of school year stress with the additional stress of trying to pack up my room and move it next door while that teacher packs up and moves to my room. I want to be done by 2:30 pm on the 9th. That will give me the afternoon to celebrate with my coworkers and evening to pack for Florida. I want to leave on the 10th, but I may just take a day at home to sleep in and be a vegetable, then leave on the 11th. My main goal is to not hit Atlanta at rush hour.

THE CALL OF THE POOL

Well, the pool is calling. I hooked up the new filter/pump and am currently running it. I skimmed the top of the pool to get the leaves and other debris out. I still need to vacuum the bottom, but I know the water is just too cold. I bought a new solar blanket and have the pool covered. I still need to fill it a little more, but will do that once I have the bottom clean. This has been such a cold spring that pool chores I normally would have done aren't.

I have opened up the house to air it out. I had the furnace turned off for about a week, then the frigid weather returned. I just turned the furnace off again. I'm not going to turn it on until next winter! Last year I turned it off the 3rd week of March and didn't turn it on again until the 3rd week of November.

I finished up my IEP's this past week. I can now start packing up my classroom to move it next door. The second grade teacher and I are switching rooms. This way both second grades will be next door to each other. I'll have an end room with more storage and more square footage. YIPPEE!!!!!! I will also have one solid wall. Both of my side walls are folding walls and are difficult to "decorate" around. It ought to be fun to come up with a new floorplan. I'm going to get rid of my 3 small file cabinets and buy one tall file cabinet with a good lock. That will make my life much easier and give me more floorspace.

Well, better get to my housework. It's not going to do itself.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

We had a little program on our school's "news" show that is televised every Monday by our 5th graders. It was pretty cute. Yes, and the cafeteria served tacos.

Bindi's feeling much better. It took my son and I to wrestle her to clean the port and the area around the port today. We finally had to muzzle her and my son basically had to lay on her while I cleaned the area with hydrogen peroxide. She's got another 2 weeks with the drain port.

I figured out how to spend my PTO money. I have accrued about $235 over the past few years. This year the PTO has decided to take the money back and put it back into their general budget if teachers don't spend it. So, I'm buying a kidney shaped table for my classroom. Next year most of my kids will be in wheelchairs and won't be able to sit at desks. With the kidney shaped table I can position the kids around the table and I can sit on the opposite side and work with the kids. The best thing about getting a table through the PTO is that it belongs to my classroom. If the district ever moves the program out of our building I can take the table with.

I talked with my mom tonight. She was telling me how cute Trixie, the little yorkie, is getting. I heard her barking and growling at her 1/2 sister (my mom's dog). I can't wait to meet her. I also told my mom we'd go looking for a puppy for her dog as a playmate. My mom's other dog is 14 years old and isn't all that playful anymore.

Poor Bindi

I had to take Bindi, the dalmatian, to the vet again today. She's running a fever and not eating. Her ears are both infected. The right ear flap needed to be drained again. She had bloodwork to see if she has pancreatitis. I'll get those results tomorrow. If it's not pancreatitis, then we have to do an x-ray of her stomach. If she's got a blockage, then she'll probably have to be put to sleep. She will not tolerate another surgery. I'm sick to my stomach about it and really depressed. It's a sad state of affairs when I hope that she does have pancreatitis.

Now I know I couldn't work in an office!

I spent today pushing papers. I had 4 IEP's to write for a meeting on Thursday. I got a sub, a woman I used to work with. She's a sweetheart, but, well, uh, isn't a real go-getter. She brought her guitar. I knew she would so I wrote in the sub plans specific times she could play it. One of my paras came to find me to tell me that she was playing the guitar, not working on dioramas. I told her to just get all the stuff together and start grabbing kids and work on them. The sub will be back on Thursday, so I'll make sure she only has time at the very end of the day to play her guitar.
I took Bindi to the vet yesterday to get a hematoma on her ear drained. She came home in an Elizabethan collar. The poor old girl doesn't see all that well to begin with. Now she's running into doorways and walls. She has no depth perception at all.