A Hermit Again

Mud Mama and her family left yesterday morning and Maggie left at noon, so my house is very quiet for the first time in a couple of weeks. I spent the day putting things back in their pre-Christmas state ... undressing trees ... washing bed linens ... moving clothes back to their original rooms and closets ... and so on.

By evening I was exhausted but my home was almost mine again. I find that the older I get the more I need my defined space ... especially in terms of the working spaces. It has nothing to do with whether my way is better or worse, just that it is my accustomed way. I felt during this period that my life was on hold.

Kenya relaxed as well. She likes having other dogs for company and playtime, but I think she also likes not having to share food, beds or me for a change.

Maggie was a lovely dog who just wanted plenty of love and was submissive with the other dogs. She clung to me like a burr for the first while, but really liked all the human companionship and would stay out for hours playing with the other dogs. The last night she had an ear ache and then diarrhea. I gave her the medication her owner had left, and she promptly whoopsed up the pills and her last meal in three sessions, so our final night together was less pleasant than the others. However; she was such a loving well trained dog that it didn't really affect how I felt about her.

Sprout (the human baby) had also been sick too, and the last couple of nights were sleepless ones for his parents.

I awoke about midnight last night knowing that I had probably caught Sprout's bug so I am dosing myself with Vitamin C, Cold-FX and a chest rub of almond oil laced with decongestant oils like eucalyptus and cedarwood.

Today I will call the Eye Institute about the recurring infection. The ER doctors last time gave me a note for them saying they suspected an inflammatory orbital pseudotumour. Hmmn ...

I will also go to my regular dental appointment ... and I will finish cleaning the house.

It has been a hectic Christmas season this year ... the company ... all the extra dogs living here ... Mica, Stella, and Maggie ... and all compounded by the two day power outage, the recurring eye infections and other illnesses ... and we also had to deal with some idiot's dog.

A guy in a truck dropped two husky-shepherd crosses off at the nearby boarding kennel. The owner managed to catch one but the other ended up on our lake flirting with all my girls ... who fell in love and followed him everywhere. Maggie and Mica were especially smitten. He was a handsome fellow.

Two neighbours also took an interest in him and one managed to lure him into her home where, for a few days, he lifted his leg on every piece of furniture and discombobulated her resident cat. Despite this, she liked him and managed to keep him with her until he could be taken to the boarding kennel where he and his brother were to be picked up by the local SPCA. Like me she is glad to get back to her old routines, including sleeping upstairs, in her own bed, but she is also saddened by what she knows will likely be this dog's fate. When a dog owner can't be bothered to train his dogs and then rids himself of them in this way, they are unlikely to find homes easily.