“The Life You Save Might Be Your Own”

 Sorry to disappoint anyone, but I did not haul off to the ride in Oklahoma this past weekend. It turned out to be a Perfect Storm of excuses - the most important being that I had a crew trimming trees at the clinic so Oncor can install my new power pole & transformer, upgrading our power so I can reinstall my X-ray machine! I could’ve just as well have titled this “The Never-ending Project”… (periodically, I’ll go back and skim entries from last year so I am well aware things could be far FAR worse)

And speaking of worse outcomes, I then attended the funeral for one of our animal control officers. Poor Drew requested a new assignment from his supervisor on Friday - of course he promised to get right on it, but Drew couldn’t make it through the weekend. It seemed almost surreal for the young pastor to be making the pitch for mental health services. I’m glad I went even though it was difficult; it seemed to mean a lot to Drew’s widow for me and Dr Brown (my young colleague from Red Oak who had also worked with Drew) to be there. Most of the local animal control services sent representation - they drove their trucks and had their lights flashing in the parking lot, lining up to form an honor guard of sorts when we went into the reception.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/drewrey-daily-obituary?id=56589064&_gl=1*u49c5d*_gcl_au*NDAyNTczNTkwLjE3MzA0NzkzMjQ.

Since I stayed in town, I fulfilled another obligation Sunday - picking up Heather’s gelding to see what I can do with him. TwoFace reminds me a great deal of dear old Quigley and my sincere wish was to pawn him off on my cousin but he’s still working on fencing…

When I had to run into town last night (Hubby & I kept overlooking  the need for bleach), I stumbled into another rescue - a scrawny elderly little Chihuahua was running down the side of the road, darting into traffic! One lady had stopped, I pulled over to help but eventually it was a nice young Hispanic guy who ran her down. (on foot of course! I realize that wording sounded bad when I went back to proofread) No collar but I’ll scan her for a microchip** (Ha!) when I take her to work with me and a miracle might happen. Or God has sent me another dog…

**and of COURSE she doesn't have a microchip - but I've put her on my FB groups, maybe we will turn up her owner?!?

Duties & Obligations

 I have joked around with my endurance friends about the competitive trail bunch trying to recruit me to their side - it’s like an adult game of Red Rover! Last spring when I judged their 7iL event, Julie B asked me about judging her Oklahoma event which is this weekend (in other words, a good solid 7 months ago). I heard nothing more until about a month ago: as I was finalizing my schedule, I reached out to confirm. Julie said she had secured another veterinarian to be the head judge, but asked me to come help out anyway, much as I have done at Alice’s spring rides: hauling in with my gear to be there in case of emergencies, helping out wherever they need me. 

Part of me is relieved (it’s actually a hell of a lot of work to judge these rides, especially considering the minuscule compensation - last spring I don’t even think it covered the cost of my diesel), but part of me is offended, mostly by the fact that she didn’t tell me when she booked another veterinary judge. These arrangements are made months in advance, and if Julie had told me I probably would not have asked Dr. M to cover for me (that’s $850 right there). That’s a precious Friday I could’ve saved for my trail riders’ campout or another endurance event!

It’s really too late for me to back out now - Dr M is already booked; it wouldn’t be fair for me to jerk the rug out from under her! So I will go and I’m sure I’ll have a good time even though it looks like we’re gonna get long-awaited rain this weekend, hopefully that means it will dry up by the weekend of the eighth when I am supposed to meet my trail riders at nearby Lake Waco…

The state park where this OK ride will be held is also a site of historical significance to Yours Truly: we have had a long-standing endurance ride at this lake for many years, but I quit going 20 yrs ago since I ceded Oklahoma Territory to Ex & his slut (!!!). So part of this trip will be Auld Lange Syne for me as I recall several good rides Back in the Day...

Meanwhile, I pulled a couple of Victoria's Tulum photos off FB

                                                I commented "No, you can't have one!!!"

In Vino Non Veritas

 (What is this blog if not a place for true confessions & deep dark thoughts, not to mention reminiscence & retrospection??)

Back in the day when I felt as if I was frantically juggling my responsibilities as mother, wife & veterinary practice owner, I must admit I relied on alcohol as a minor crutch as well as self-medication. I met an old friend for a good ride yesterday - she’s been having health issues of her own, which can be partially traced to her sobriety issues. She had gastric bypass with significant weight loss but then struggled with malnutrition because she was drinking too many of her calories. I myself have come to the conclusion that I will gladly remain pleasantly plump if only I can get some of my stamina back!

Yesterday evening we celebrated my friend’s younger daughter‘s 21st birthday, and Courtney decided to tie one on! She was already urging her cousin to do shots with her and it wasn’t quite 6 PM… she poured me a cup (she picked out a coffee cup for me because it had a horse on it!) of sweet red wine which she forced into my hands. I can’t believe I’m nursing a minor headache this morning after that minor indulgence, but obviously I cannot drink the sweet varieties anymore. I had to give up white wine several years ago since it always gave me a headache - for the most part I can have a glass of a nice Malbec or Cab with dinner like a civilized person. Peran & I bowed out early when Courtney had retreated to her room to go through her old prom dresses. K reports she is alive if not well this morning - not surprisingly having thrown up several times! But she’s young so I’m sure she’ll recover quickly, ha ha! I’m very glad that Zach seems to have outgrown his binge drinking phase; I was very worried a couple of weeks ago when he took a bottle of tequila over to his friend’s as he plotted his proposal to Victoria.

Sounds like they had a great betrothal trip - I took Tyson back to Zach’s house Friday night with an invoice detailing all his veterinary care during the week: between boarding, bathing, treating his minor ear infection, updating his vaccinations and heartworm protection, it was a little over $600 and that didn’t even include ambulance service for Grandma to pick him up and return him safely home! Zach was very appreciative and hopefully I’ll get to see him this afternoon where he can show me vacation photos. (He sent me a few but I want the narration)

The Moth & The Flame

 Once again Val has screwed up - I did not cancel my monthly membership to the acupuncture clinic, so I’m on the hook for another month’s worth of these treatments. While I can’t discern any earth-shattering health improvements, it does seem to help my sleep quality. Unfortunately the clinic changed their schedule & is no longer open on Thursdays, which is the main reason I signed up! So I have been trekking up there on Tuesday nights and either Saturday or Sunday…

Last night when I emerged from the soothing dim lights & mellow music, I saw that I had a missed call from my son (of course NO CELL PHONES in the treatment area, which is a great thing - I need to set aside the technology more often!). A short game of cat & mouse ensued because of course, when I tried to call him back he didn’t answer, but I could see his location so I headed thataway… we finally linked up at Aldi where I accompanied him on a short stroll browsing through the store. I couldn’t bring myself to buy anything even though I’ve been daydreaming about what I might have for dinner as I lay on the acupuncture table - now nothing sounded good! The fundamental problem was that I didn’t feel like cooking - I wound up going through a drive-through and buying a couple of tacos; not the best nutrition but far from the worst.

Zach is getting stressed out about my financial predicament - I appreciate his concern but him coming up with what I consider harebrained schemes (like selling off rental properties) would be counterproductive. Mea culpa for oversharing - it isn’t that I expect him to solve any of these problems; I’m just trying to use myself as a prime example of how not to manage your money.

He called me as I was getting ready for bed and talked my ear off for another half an hour until I told him we both needed to get some sleep: worrying about these things was no longer helpful! I have to hold on until the first week of December when Dr. W is coming to pick up the surgery trailer…”Every day in every way I’m getting better and better!” (10 points if you can identify that quote)

Just Another Manic Monday

 (I realize that today is Tuesday, but I damn sure didn’t have a chance to blog anything yesterday!)

I got an unprecedented 3 calls from my son yesterday - the first two were appreciated but unremarkable; just routine stuff. Zach is dealing with the aftermath of his car accident: fortunately the other party is accepting complete responsibility which means he was able to pick up a rental car yesterday & return Andy’s old Lexus. The old reliable warhorse of the Impala is fixable with Andy’s help in finding a body shop, which is great news…

But when he called me at the end of the day asking me if I wanted to meet for dinner, Z’s voice sounded funny - of course I would come meet him even though Monday night would be something out of the ordinary. I was glad I had completed my errand of mercy over lunchtime, making a house call for a friend to euthanize their elderly Doberman. Fortunately traffic coming from the south (going into town) is minimal in the evenings; Zach asked me to rendezvous at Andy & Adela’s house which there again was perfectly reasonable since Andy has been struggling - I had tried to take them some Chinese food on Sunday, but Adela had taken him back to the VA.

It came as a complete shock when Zach walked into their kitchen with his little bag from the high-end jewelers - his surprise was that he had gotten Victoria‘s rings paid off! He had not mentioned a word about it for months & months; with their recent “little bumps in the road”, I’d been afraid to ask. Of course I’ll post photos when I can - I don’t want to rain on my son’s parade, but as much as he would love to propose to her when they go to Mexico next week, all three of us (Andy, Adela & myself) advised him not to take the rings into Mexico. Andy said it best: that Z might make an honest man a thief. Fortunately Zach seemed to get where we were coming from, but he rushed off shortly thereafter to talk to his friend & former roomie Brooks. Adela loaded me up with leftover birthday cake so Peran & I could have our own little celebration when I got home. This does make me glad to be the mother of the groom with less financial obligations - I had offered to sell my old rings and contribute those meager funds towards the cause, but there’s not a market for small, mid-quality natural diamonds when you can obtain these huge, flawless laboratory-grown ones for a fraction of the cost.

Today’s gonna be a terrible Tuesday in its own way, so I’d better start getting ready. My dogs woke me up barking at something around 2 AM but I managed to shut down my anxious brain and drift off back to sleep until shortly after 6:00.

The Ties That Bind

 I had to look it up to confirm dates, but when PF Chang’s came on the scene in the early 90’s, I remember it as more of an upscale “Asian-fusion” dining experience? Never in our regular rotation like our beloved Tex-Mex joints, but we went a few times Back in the Day… All I can say now is that it’s definitely gone downhill - feels as if they’re serving Panda Express in a fancier setting!?!

Let me back up and start at the beginning - all I intended to do yesterday afternoon was to deliver a couple of pumpkins to my son, but I wound up with an impromptu invitation to Victoria‘s grandmother’s birthday celebration. Of course I will never bypass any invitation from my son, even if it involves getting roped into running an errand like picking up her birthday cake (Zach had forgotten he had a dentist appointment). But with all the fine dining opportunities that abound in the DFW area**,  somehow we wound up at PF Chang’s? Victoria had the day off so she had taken her grandmother to the Dallas Arboretum, perfect weather for their pumpkin-patch display!

** we had to find someplace that would satisfy Victoria‘s grandfather’s inconsistent appetite; he has not been doing well, but that’s another story

PF Chang‘s now has their “Chef’s Feast” option which is the best value since you get an appetizer, soup or salad and then a main-course dish. Andy was adamant that he wanted “no rice!” as we patiently explained to him multiple times that the rice would be served on the side. (Even more alarming than his physical deterioration is his cognitive decline) And again, while it was nice to see everyone, this was not a memorable fine-dining experience like our expedition to the Fort Worth stockyards two weeks ago… “I ate it anyway” so won’t be approaching my scales after all that oil, sodium, & MSG. The highlight was returning to Andy & Adela’s to cut the cake & witness their dog Mac’s unbridled joy at seeing ZACH!!! since he’s been taking him for walks. (I wanted to tell Mac I know how he feels, but if I wiggled my butt & jumped up & down in delight, Zach might not invite me over as often ;-)

Time to disturb my little lap warmer Izzy & get on with my day

Diminishing Returns

  There comes that cold hard point in one’s existence where the reality of your own limitations (physical, financial, existential??) meet the parameters of this Great Escape you’ve planned, like waves crashing upon the beach. And in the long run, having as little effect.

Nothing really “bad” happened on my mini-vacay trip to Quitaque; things just didn’t go quite as planned. Most folks were somber as we realize that this might be our last chance to enjoy these trails as the ranch is on the market (for the low low price of $8 million - needless to say, it might take a while to sell) and who knows if the new owners will continue to allow equestrian access? 

https://www.land.com/property/5457-acres-in-Briscoe-County-Texas/20852165/

Silas didn’t like his new boots (I think more a case of he’s never worn such things before rather than not fitting properly) so we wound up picking our way gingerly through the first day barefoot. We wound up falling in with a group of 7 moms & daughters; everything was fine but we had to go slow and both of us were tired at the end of our 16-mile loop. I treasure these horse-camping opportunities for the splendid isolation/private time it affords me, but this time instead of reading & journaling, I mindlessly surfed the 'Net. (Cue minor guilt for wasting precious irreplaceable time) Silas’s back wound up a little sore so I decided not to ride on Day 2. My friend Chris’s horse likewise had girth galls, so we had a nice “coffee-time” visit Saturday morning before I loaded up for a leisurely haul home. Chris is recently widowed (her husband passed away last month after an extended cancer battle), so she of course is still grieving as she adjusts to her new reality.

About 150 miles from home, my truck developed an alarming vibration. Everything was running fine, so I slowed down and kept proceeding towards home (spoiler alert: it was a bad tire, but it didn’t blow out on me and I got home safely even though my nerves were stretched tight) Victoria’s grandfather has loaned Zach a car to drive to work as he goes through the slow & tedious process with the insurance adjuster. (I offered him either my baby Buick or my mom’s big land yacht of a Buick, but he’d rather drive Andy’s old Lexus) Once the settlement is complete, we will sort out what to do about a “new used” vehicle for him.

At some point I have to seriously question how much benefit I received from this recreation: this last weekend seemed like it carried a large component of stress, even though it was great to see everyone as always. I am on my last week of this two-month commitment to acupuncture, and while I can say I seem to be sleeping better I don’t know that it’s done me much benefit in my other symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath, etc.

I didn’t take very many photos but I’ll try to post a few later.

                                                   This is another friend's panoramic shot