February 25, 2010

Our $3000 "free" puppy...

So a few years ago we wanted a dog (ok, it was me). No gerbil, hamster, or guinea pig can compete when you've grown up with a dog. So we wnt to the humane society looking for a cute, little, white terrier kind of thing and we wound up with a puppy that grew up into a 60 pound lab/border collie. But I digress....

He was practically free. A week after we had him home he started vomiting and quickly became lethargic. We took him to the emergency vet where he was diagnosed with parvo virus, which has no treatment except supportive care, and is nearly always fatal. He spent 4 days in the puppy ICU at a cost of $2000, but he survived.

Things were going along pretty well, until January. He was running through the yard in the snow, and suddenly yelped. He would not put weight on his foot, so we treated it with RICE for a day to see if it would get better. It did not. A visit to the vet confirmed my suspicion of a torn ACL. The best option for a young dog like him was surgery to replace the torn ligament for a cost of about $1500.

So most of the month has been spent trying to keep him quiet and healing after the surgery. And did I mention, that 30% of dogs who have torn one ACL usually tear the other one within a year? 

Nothing is ever free. Good thing he's cute.

February 11, 2010

it's simple

I have always loved planners, calendars, and journals, but this s one of my all time favorites! I love how the pages are kind of random thoughts - much like my own. The page always starts with a choice of three things to describe my day and a place to explain why. There's always a red quote in the middle. The rest of the things on the page are random - sometimes I comment, sometimes I check them, cross them out, or add my own. You have to check it out.

February 8, 2010

Proof of a technology gap

My husband is not Mr. Technology. He learned how to send email a year ago. On more than one occasion I have found him talking on his cell phone with it next to his ear - on speaker. So, when he told me he found a place online to order a replacement tail light for the broken one on our van, I was shocked. "Yeah," he said, "it's a lot cheaper than in the store, but it's like a mail order place. Is that ok?" A mail order place? You mean like online shopping? (snicker)

February 6, 2010

Look, it's a...a...a...oh, hell I don't know.

In December I got a great deal on the electric guitar that my daughter requested for Christmas on craigslist. So when someone we knew told us he was moving and getting rid of a piano, I thought we hit the jackpot. Maybe I should have asked to see it first.

As it turns out the paint is only the beginning. Many of the hammers are broken and the strings are starting to rust - it's not worth repairing as a piano. It's sitting in our garage waiting for the right person to find it. Can't you picture it as a garden planter? Maybe a desk? A headboard in a shabby chic room? A fish tank? A "piano bar" for the rec room?

C'mon, who's feelin' it?