I don't wanna...

Just haven't wanted to write for a while.  I used to apologize for extended absences.  Nowadays I say "deal with it.  Or don't"  I am just not inclined to worry about it.

A month ago I renewed my love of road biking.  The Boss Lady helped me make the leap and I bought a Specialized road bike (aka a ten speed - though this one technically has 18 gear combinations).  I have had the bike for 3 and a half weeks and have already topped a hundred miles in the saddle.  I still grin like a school boy when the new blue racer and I hit 30 miles per hour on a nice, flat cruise.

The new bike may have been a really well timed purchase, too.  A week after I got the new ride home, the bottom fell out of our household.  And since then it has been nice to have something to keep my mind and body occupied.

Not even a month ago we got some awful news about The Big White Dog.  His chest cavity was full of one giant and fast growing tumor and the cancer was already showing up in his kidneys too.  We knew he was not feeling great, but we were certainly not prepared to hear the worst case scenario was coming true.  Less than a week later our 125 pound, 8 year old puddle of puppy was gone.  After realizing that he was unable to eat or drink, The Boss and I knew that we had to let the vet help Kodak go.

And that sucks.  Again.  And Again.

Long suffering readers may realize that this is indeed the third pet we have lost in less than a year.  Our Spring addition to the family was a 2-3 year old Great Pyrenees girl who had been used up by a lousy backyard breeder.  Something went wrong after her spay surgery and we lost her two weeks later.  The kids were crushed.  The Boss was devastated.  I was wrecked.  It sucked.

A few months ago we had to decide to have our 17 year old kitty cat, P.K., aka Pretty Kitty, put to sleep.  She was ancient and it was no surprise. Still, the kids were crushed.  The Boss Lady was devastated.  I was wrecked.  It sucked. Again.

After losing Kodak, none of us are totally back to ourselves yet.  We have mostly quit crying but it is still horrible to realize that our big ol' albino melon head is not sitting and peeking OVER the fence when we arrive home in the evenings.

The 12 pound puppy we adopted last summer is adjusting well to his role as big dog of the house.  Now I can only hope that the rest of us adjust pretty soon, too.

We are running seriously low on pets around here

Maybe the Mayans were partially right.  Seems like there are loads of AtHomeFamily pets that are not making it to 2013.  Early in the Spring we had to have our new dog put-down after she got an infection during her spay surgery.  That super sucked.

A couple of times this year we had to finish off wounded or sick chickens.  Not real fun, but part of the deal with our backyard chicken flock.

Today was a totally different level of yuck though.  P.K., our 16+ year old calico cat went over the Rainbow Bridge this afternoon.  Six months ago it seemed like her time was up.  We made a diet change for her and she perked up and fattened up nicely for a little while.  Last week I noticed she was getting skinny again, but I also saw her jump over our 8 foot tall garden gate so I didn't think much of any of it.  

Yesterday she was really wanting to just sleep in one spot.  This morning she was hardly moving and laying flat out on the kitchen floor when we left for church.  A few hours later we were taking the drive to the vet, knowing that she would not be returning with us.  The Talker is a stoic little dude and he sat in the waiting area after saying his goodbyes at home.  The Princess was torn up and waited with PK until the vet came into the room.  The Boss Lady and I stayed with our first pet until she was gone.  

15 years or more ago, PK got hurt real bad in a fall from our oak tree that towered over a concrete driveway.  Her herniated diaphragm required life saving surgery.  Her broken leg required that she live in a crate under my desk for months.  I hauled her to work daily and would sneak her into the office before my 75 year old boss would get to the office.  He would frequently let us know that he "heard a cat" but PK was so pretty and perfect that none of my co-workers ever ratted me out to The Man.

Our family is really into our pets.  That is probably obvious to everyone.  Still, even though there are 8 more animals sharing our house these days, we will surely never have another Pretty Kitty.

PK, you were a perfect first pet.  We will think about you often and I'll take care of your girls. And us boys, too.

Time to face music

The Talker is making his first ever visit to the dreaded Principal's office today. Seems he and a few other boys can't quit screwing around and being silly on the school bus ride home after school. And I have to admit, seeing the boy squirm and be nervous about this has given me a sick, cheap laugh.

By the time I was in the second grade I was on a first name basis with my elementary school Principal and most of the office staff. I probably spent more time in the office than I did in math class. (Then again, I probably preferred the office to math class.)

The Talker was nervous and twisting in the wind a little bit this morning. And you know, I think that is OK. I walked with him into the school today and we found out that the Principal would be calling them in to discuss the problem. He and his buddies will hopefully learn quickly that there are better times to goof around than on the bus ride home.

The Boss Lady and I discussed this last night. We decided that we will stand with the Principal when he doles out the consequences. Then, we had to revise that a little bit, since our kids do live in the era of ridiculous zero-tolerance policies. (None of which I expect the school to invoke in this instance.) So long as the punishment fits the crime, which might even include a day (or two) off of the school bus, we are OK with it.

Even though I never got in trouble on the school bus, only because we lived a couple of blocks from the school, please believe me, I remember what it was like to be a boy. Seems like only yesterday I was running around the house in my underwear, with a laundry basket on my head, scaring the dog and cats.

OK, so that WAS yesterday. But I wasn't doing all of that crazy crap on the school bus!

20.81

On Monday I mentioned that I was going to renew my efforts to get off of the couch while the kids are at school. I walked a little over 5 miles on Monday and I did 5 miles again on Tuesday. I walked for a while with one of our older neighbors which slowed me down a little bit but also made the last couple of miles a lot more enjoyable. By dinner time that evening I was rethinking my new efforts at getting fit. My legs were feeling every step of the previous two days.

On Wednesday I was almost done with mile 4. I was out on the hiking trail and heading home. I heard my phone chirp that a new email was waiting, so I did a quick check while I was walking down the trail. My web enabled phone is a new toy and I haven't yet started ignoring it each time it alerts me to a new message. It was lucky that I did not ignore the message this time. A neighbor's dog had run off and had been spotted heading for the trail I was currently walking on.

I started calling the puppy, but I made it to the trail with no sign of the dog. As I was getting to the house I saw the neighbor who was headed out to search for the puppy again. I grabbed my car and a leash and headed to the opposite end of the park, The neighbor headed to the trail I had just hiked.

We each hiked into the park and met up in the middle of the trail but neither of us had found the puppy. I was ready to sit for a while, so I decided to drive the neighborhood streets, and search for the puppy who now had a couple of hour head start. As I was driving down a dead end street a car came up behind me, flashing it's lights. I was moving slow but I was on a mission, so I kept my pace and just figured some jerk wanted to pass me.

Better sense took hold of me and I did not yell at the alleged jerk. Good thing too, because the driver was out driving around, trying to see if she could find anyone out driving around looking for a lost puppy. She had found the puppy and taken it home to her house.

I followed her over there, picked up the puppy and called the neighbor. We had completed a successful puppy search!

For the record, I finished up my 5 miles while I was walking back to get my car after searching the trail the second time. But my sore legs combined with stopping to listen for the puppy every few steps slowed my average speed down a little bit that day.

I skipped out on walking on Thursday. No need to over do this whole walking-the-neighborhood-hero thing. Plus it was raining and I had a headache. But mainly I just didn't wanna. My legs were tired.

I hit the neighborhood streets in a light rain this morning, 5 miles in the 'hood is a lot more boring than 5 miles on the trails, but I didn't want to end up a muddy mess, so I cruised the sidewalks today. I did my 5 miles, plus some extra, in 1 hour and 25 minutes. The fastest I have gone this far.

On Monday I set a goal to walk 20 miles before Friday night. In the end I managed a little extra, 20.8 miles total. Next week I want to try to walk 30 miles over 6 days (Full disclosure, I am counting tomorrow's walk towards that goal.)

Three of our favorite things (and one, meh.)

If I had my wish, we would have a whole herd of big dogs around here. I love me some Great Danes, Old English Sheep Dogs and of Course, Great Pyrenees.

Until then I guess we will have to make do with a dog food commercial aimed at people who own West Highland Terriers. At least the first 19 seconds of this clip rule!

The challenge before you

is to decide which one to eat.

The Princess' Play Dough Stew or
AtHomeDaddy's Bread Machine French Bread.




Like grandma said, tough choices make life more interesting.





Edit: 4:15pm - So sorry, you are stuck with the stew. Dog ate the entire loaf of bread while we were outside dissecting a CD drive.

At least the house smells good!