The Latest News

Before I return to blogging about Hawaii, I thought I'd interject a short update about what's been happening around these parts more recently. A couple weeks ago, Chloe started limping and whining, and we thought she might have sprained a leg while playing at the dog park. But after a few days, when it seemed to be getting worse rather than better, we decided she needed to go to the vet. So last Tuesday morning, while Tomkin stayed home so the furnace guy could do a yearly checkup, I took Chloe to Grand Avenue Vet (who we love!). After examining Chloe, the vet said she suspected that Chloe had torn her knee ligament and would probably need to have surgery. As she wrote up an estimate for the full diagnosis procedure, I shot Tomkin a text message to update him. He wrote back saying that we needed to get a new furnace and air conditioner, at a cost of about $8,000! Needless to say, we did lots and lots of talking about finances and options. After some phone calls and research, we discovered that we did NOT in fact need a new air conditioner (phew!) and we could get a furnace for about $1,600 after a tax credit and three rebates. So today we had our new furnace installed! Hopefully we won't have to do that again for another 20 years. And, after bringing Chloe back for X rays and a more thorough diagnosis, we have scheduled her knee surgery for this Friday at Veterinary Surgical Specialists in Inver Grove Heights, MN. It'll actually cost more than the furnace, but since Chloe is a healthy dog and we hope she'll live another good three or four years, we figure it's worth it. She's a member of the family, after all, and we've pledged to give her the best care we can. Unfortunately, this means we won't get to start doing therapy dog work for a while--her rehabilitation will run about four to six months. But hopefully by June she'll be good as new. Of course the weather has now warmed up considerably (it's amazing how springlike temperatures in the 20s can feel!), but we're refraining from taking Chloe on any walks. Right now she spends most of her time on the couch. But thankfully she's on some good anti-inflammatory and narcotic drugs, so she doesn't seem to be in any pain.

Also last week, my mom and Dick were out with their dogs, Bosley and Buttons, chatting with some neighbors when all of a sudden two other dogs came running from out of nowhere and started attacking Bosley and Buttons! Mom yanked Buttons (a bichon frise) off the ground, and one of the dogs clenched on to her legs, causing lacerations as his teeth ripped into her skin. Dick bravely threw himself on top of Bosley (a boxer mix), and both of them ended up getting bit. Dick is now on antibiotics for a swollen hand, and Bosley got bit in the chest and might have nerve damage in one of his front legs. Thankfully, the man whose dogs did the attacking apologized profusely and has offered to pay all the applicable bills (already in the hundreds of dollars). Hard to say, though, if there will be any lasting physical or psychological damage.

In happier news, Tomkin and I celebrated Christmas with my dad, Sandy, Phillip, and Alex this past Saturday. We were dog-sitting Watson (a sweet chocolate lab) for the weekend, since his human parents had a baby girl on Friday night (congrats to Roxanne & Jim!), so he and Chloe both came along. We enjoyed a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings (and I made two mousse pies for dessert!), opened gifts, and then sat and visited. It was a really fun day! And both dogs were very good.

Oh, and we booked tickets to visit Jenny and Allison in Portland! We haven't been out to see their new place yet, but we'll finally get to see it (and them!) for a long weekend in April. Very excited about that.

Also, I'm switching to a new program for my premarital counseling services. Last Friday I attended an all-day workshop to get certified in the PREPARE/ENRICH program. I'm really excited about it, and I think it'll be really helpful for couples. I'm not working on any grants right now, but those should be starting up again soon. In the meantime, I'm getting familiarized with PREPARE/ENRICH, working on some other wedding-related projects with Tomkin, spending some wonderful time with friends, and catching up on my to-do list. I hope that all of you are doing well! Take care, and thanks for reading my blog. :-)