Flippy - I Rant, You Read

Friday, June 19, 2009

lunch time

Ugh, Fibro Crash

I knew that I was due to crash (although I was hoping I wouldn’t) after a couple weeks of steady appointments and driving all over the city, and then Coffee Fest…where we only spent maybe two hours.  I thought things were going kind of badly when we got home on Sunday, but then we still had to get Kevin/Cody to the airport on Monday.  And then, when we had to have Eli put to sleep on Tuesday…that really capped it all off.  I’ve pretty much slept almost straight through since then, waking up only to feed the dogs and get the dogs out.  I had two appointments yesterday that I had to bail on, because I just couldn’t fathom being able to get out of bed, shower, and drive to both appointments.  My body just said “no”, and my head had no choice in the matter.  I’d been feeling kind of decent, for me lately, the past couple of weeks, so I’d hoped it would continue.  It did not.  I can’t even blame it just on the stress of losing Eli, although that was really, really awful…and still is.  (I wish Dante understood English, so we could tell him what happened to Eli - he seems so sad and confused) It was just too much, too close together, and too much driving - all in all, just too much.  If we get kicked out of our house, I hope I’m able to get up out of bed.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

early evening

R.I.P., Eli

Eli, very, very, very, unexpectedly had to be put to sleep yesterday. We thought she just had an upset belly from her usual, eating the head of a stuffed toy, but we discovered that she had a tumor on her aorta and congestive heart failure. So, after a very, very exhausting couple of weeks, it’s turned sad on top of it.  The vet’s office was great, as usual.  They even stayed open late, so we could come back and be with her when they put her to sleep.  Every pet (and person, for that matter) should be allowed to leave this world that peacefully.  No pain, just some good pain meds/anti-anxiety meds and then the evil pink stuff.  It was good that she didn’t have to suffer any more than necessary.  She was a good, good dog…and if there’s a Rainbow Bridge (I’m a total atheist, except for maybe when it comes to pets), she’s harassing Sweet Pea, the cat.  Although, after Sweet Pea left us, also unexpectedly, Eli got a little older and a little more dotty, and she tolerated cats really well.  I guess when there are so many of them, it’s too much trouble to pick just one to harass.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

mid-afternoon

Help Animals & Honor a cool chick - Edith Layton Memorial giveaway, auction and fundraiser

Shamelessly & lovingly copied from the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blog.  In memory of Edith Layton, Jane and I are hosting a fundraiser/auction/giveaway to benefit the North Shore Animal League. Layton’s daughter Susie Felber told me that while her mother was very quiet about her battle with ovarian cancer, she was not at all shy about “her insane love of animals,” and so the family decided any memorial contributions should be directed to the NSAL.  With some help from friends and authors, we’re putting together a three part effort.

If you like romance novels, saving animals, remembering cool people in a way that would make them happy, please click on the above paragraph to find out how you can win some books, donate to the North Shore Animal League (or pet charity of your choice) in Edith Layton’s name, and find out how you can win the eBay auction for the upcoming bound anthology, Must Love Hellhounds, by, among others, Charlaine Harris (whose anthology contribution is the next installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series, on which HBO’s True Blood is based), a gift basket by the author of Dark Slayer, and a bound galley of Nora Roberts’ next book.  I think Edith Layton would be thrilled that the North Shore Animal League is benefitting from the auction & raffle by those who loved and admired her.  I think it’ll also help the Felber family, knowing that even though their mom is gone, her legacy of loving & supporting the North Shore Animal League lives on.

So, go check out the full details at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.  And while you’re there, check out the site (and check out Dear Author, too, because they’re in on this SBTB) because it’s pretty entertaining, even for a non-romance novel reader like myself.  Since I’ve never really given any romance novels a shot since perhaps reading one Harlequin romance novel as a kid, I figure I could honor Edith’s memory by checking out one of her novels.  I know that her kids are awesome writers, so it stands to reason, their mom was, too.  Plus, if I love it, it gives me LOTS of new books to read, because the woman was prolific.  When she wasn’t helping save animals and spending time with her grandkids, she must’ve been writing constantly.

Monday, June 08, 2009

lunch time

Lemonade, Limeade, Gatorade, Kool-Aid, Illiterade - Hike!

A very intelligent, and I’m sure college-degreed pro-war protester.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

evening

Our birds live in an analog world

Our birds watch PBS daily, but they watch it off an antenna.  On June 12, our tvs are going digital and our birds are getting the family dvd player, I guess.  I just applied for converter coupons today, as we’ve really had other things on our minds - our coupons won’t be mailed until June 12, so it looks like we’ll be experimenting with the dvd player in the bird room.  Gee, I hope the birds like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Sports Night”, and various Xmas cartoons until we get them a converter.  If you’ve procrastinated and haven’t ordered a $40 digital converter coupon or two, go to https://www.dtv2009.gov/ and order them now.  The converter boxes are supposed to be $40 - $70.

Update 6/13/08:  We got our converter box coupons in the mail already, and we’ve found a place that sells them for a penny less than the amount that the coupon covers, so the birds will be watching their PBS shows again very soon.  The birds are very happy - I was happy to get a brief respite from “Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales, stupid effin’ dragon tales, let’s eat them all up, yum!” Some of those lyrics may not be absolutely accurate, but perhaps they were just burned into my skull incorrectly.  The birds and I will both be happy for them to get their Sesame Street shows back.