SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!

I don't think that students have any real sense that we are counting down until summer vacation long before they are. But we are. I put the calendar up on the wall in March and I have been crossing out the weeks and counting down the days since there were 67 days to go.

And then it was this week! And I finished grading my exams! I cleaned and packed away my room! I turned in my radio and keys! And then I did my happy dance!

I don't like to talk about work here, because well, who cares about work. Who really wants to read about someone else's problems at work? Be a big girl, pull up your big-girl-pants, and find a solution.No one is interested. And it's unprofessional. 

But I love summer vacation! Last summer there was a World Trip. We went all over and visited some well-loved and missed friends. This summer is looking to be more low-key. We have been saying that for years, but this time, it will come true!

Right now? We have plans for the next two weeks... and then my lovely Mom is coming to visit. And there is a bridal shower and a wedding this summer. And my amazing sister turns 26 and we are celebrating like it's hot!!!!!!! There might be a bachelorette party later on too.

See? Low-key! Do you know what that means? I AM GOING TO QUILT ALL SUMMER! Those are my big plans! Doesn't that sound lovely?!!!

So I'm sorry that when you graduated from college and got a job you were not smart enough to realize that by not being a teacher or working in the schools you would not have a summer vacation anymore. I am. I am sorry you were not inspired by a teacher to teach and continue getting your summer off. And for that, I am going to rub it in your face. Today, I slept in until 8 am. Normally I woke up at 5:30. NOT ANYMORE!

Sorry to gloat. Have a wonderful summer. Even if you have to work through most of it. 

Well, that was scary

We have had a very scary few two days (it has felt a lot longer than that).  For an unknown reason, the dogs decided they were going to sleep upstairs on Tuesday night. They just went. Misty first, and Bones followed. Strange for a school night. But we went with it.

In the mornings, when they are upstairs, Misty sits with me in the bathroom and watches me get ready. Wednesday morning, she didn't. when I put her collar on, she felt dopey. Then she tried to stand up. She fell down. Repeatedly. Now I was scared. It was not even 6am. I carried her downstairs and took the dogs outside. She fell again. And again. And now I was calling the vet. I called the emergency care number.

Misty is a 13 year old mutt. We have been together for 6 years. She is dizzy. She is falling down. She can't support herself to poop. She is drooling. Her eyes are twitching. She threw up twice at home.

I woke Matt up. He didn't have an exam to give for finals. So he took her to the emergency room. I called my mom. I thought the worst. I said a tearful goodbye before they left. Somehow I made it to work in one piece. Then I lost it again. I walked straight into the office, and I started to cry all over again. I told them after my two exams, I was going home to be with my dog.

10 minutes before my first exam started, my wonderful husband called me. He had a diagnosis. She was drunk. Like a skunk. Whole-bottle-of-Patron-on-your-own drunk. Not in real life, just in her head. It made her nauseous beyond belief. And gave her a lot of the symptoms of vertigo (an inner ear problem that caused dizziness and balance issues. So she came home(!) and was put to bed with some dramamine.

When I got home, I curled up on the floor with her and cuddled. And then we slept for 2 hours. We had stressful mornings. By last night, she was eating and walking around (still stumbling) but stubborn about doing it herself. She does NOT like to be carried at all. Although, she was okay about being carried down the stairs.

This morning. She was lethargic again. And did not get up to say good morning to Matt - very strange indeed. But we went with it. She ate her breakfast while we were at work. And has been drinking. We are not worried about that.

And the eye twitching is mostly gone. I saw it a little at some point today. But only briefly. When Matt got home, she didn't want to get up yet. That worried him (but don't tell him that) because he immediately called the hospital and started looking for things for us to do to help her (that don't involve a CAT scan - just ain't happening). And then he called me, and I panicked and came right home.

So what we are dealing with?  A dog who is struggling to walk straight. She can walk. She does better on carpet and in grass - because of the traction and gravity. She is okay on the hardwood. She spends more time in her crate and laying in the sun on the porch. Her head is always cocked to the side. She cannot look directly at you, like the world has spun 90 degrees to the left. Her tongue hangs out. Her eyes are slightly out of focus, but she can still see you and find you.

No worries. She did NOT turn down pretzels, bacon strips, or a rawhide today. I think we are going to be okay. I think it will take us awhile to recover. But we will. That stubborn dog just decided she was going to climb the damn stairs herself to get back on the porch (with me spotting her, but not allowed to touch her).

Thank you for all the kind words, thoughts, and prayers. We are still a two dog family. Thankfully.

The best news? Matt & I can respond quickly in an emergency. And we are working together to find a solution to take care of our sweet girl.

Shabbat Shalom & the Floors

This post is going to have a lot to say. So keep reading. There are at least 3 different stories about to happen.

Let's start with the floors. Every day when I come home I am surprised by how much of the floors are done! So much has been going on with them. Matt is a flooring-MACHINE!

Recently, the living room was finished. You saw that. And put back together! YAY!!!!! Then it was on to get the dining room and kitchen ready. While Matt was installing a new sub-floor and fixing the squeaks, he discovered that one of the beams supporting the kitchen had a huge crack in it. So he fixed it. Like, duh. He bought a new beam and supported it. I got to help.

Then we opened up the boxes of knotty (I thought it was naughty, just kidding!!) wood that we got on clearance. In the store it looked really good. They had a little 3x3 area sample on the floor, and we liked the variations a lot. Then we opened up the boxes. They were all 12 inch pieces with 1 or 2 2 foot planks thrown in. No wonder they were clearance priced! Garbage. So we returned them and bought more of the beautiful wood from the living room.

Then it was Memorial Day weekend! I thought I would give Matt the house to himself to be able to keep installing the floors to his content. But the wood had to acclimate to the house, and it was delivered on Friday. So by Sunday, he was happily back to work. And by Tuesday night, the dining room was done!

And now it is Friday. And Matt was hard at work all afternoon. He finished half of the kitchen, then installed molding in the dining room and one side of the kitchen. I hope that this is the last weekend of floors! HOPE HOPE HOPE!!! He told me we could put the dining room and island back tonight! Oh wouldn't that be a Friday miracle!

Which leads me to Story #2. Recently, we had a disturbance in the force. The disturbance is not important. The outcome is very important. We are at that point in our lives where things that haven't really mattered are becoming more important. We are deciding what rituals are important and how we want to deal with them. 

Tonight I brought home dinner. And dessert. But most importantly Challah. Tonight we celebrated our "First" Shabbat. We are going to be more observant. This was important (wow how many times have I just used that word) enough to me to stage a small war between us before we got married. We will be raising Jewish children. It was important to both of us to raise children in one faith not both.   




Both is too confusing and makes children choose between their parents. We are not okay with that for our children.

Before I tangent too far off, we had a picnic tonight. On the new floors between the kitchen and the dining room. We ate burritos. And Challah. And Mondal bread. And B&W cookies. I lit the candles (first duh) and said the blessings. We didn't bless the wine (or beer) because Matt would be using more power tools after we ate, and that just didn't seem safe. And we sat on the floor and talked about the day.

The weirdest part? After dinner, and after we welcomed Shabbat, I was able to sit down and relax. It felt natural. It felt right. It felt like coming home.

Good Shabbos. May your life be blessed with joy, love, and happiness.