The Crab Chronicles

Teach Your Child to Cook

One doesn't usually think of mid-August as being a great time to make cookies, at least not here in the South where it's 900 degrees on a typical August day, but yesterday Michael decided to make chocolate chip cookies and I encouraged it.

His moped broke down and he was bummed about that.

He said he wanted to make the cookies BY HIMSELF so I let him, although I helped him gather the ingredients and I offered advice. He bought the chocolate chips and really did everything else by himself. He was a little OCD about the clumps of brown sugar in the batter but I assured him it wouldn't matter in the final result.

My brother loves pecan pie. When he was a teenager, he told Mom he wanted to learn to make them. We always use my aunt Myrt's recipe and it's not complicated. So he literally memorized the recipe and now if he's called on to go to a potluck (which happens frequently, as he has a lot of friends) he can make the pie and take it. It's always a hit.

Hopefully Michael will be able to do that one day, although I don't expect him to memorize the chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's always on the bag.

In general, I think boys need to learn to follow a recipe and cook, as much as girls. It's really, as he said, simple -- if you want to eat really well, learn to cook.

Amen.

 

I have had a stomach bug for a few days and really felt awful, but I am a lot better. I was able to sample a couple of cookies last night, of course.

I have about decided that with Mom in the rehab place and me going there every day, getting exposed to a lot of germs, that's where I am picking up these little bugs I keep getting. Normally I stay at home most of the time. I hate crowds. I avoid movies, plays, concerts, sporting events -- anyplace where there are lots of people. Just don't enjoy crowds any more.

So from now on, when I go see Mom I am going to wear latex gloves, and strip them off when I leave the facility. May sound silly to you but I think it will work. I wash my hands fairly often but apparently not often enough.

Mother is improving, slowly. At 83, she's not readying herself for marathons. Getting out of bed alone and walking to the bathroom is the main goal right now.

We all miss her terribly. Michael goes to see her on days when I can't go. He is great with her.

One day he is going to make some young lady very happy. He loves to cook, doesn't mind cleaning, loves his mama and Granny, is great with kids and old folks -- just so many reasons he is a treasure.

I just threw this in here because I think it's funny. Lola sleeps everywhere, paws splayed out with wild abandon. She could win a prize as a champion sleeper. You might think her comatose, but then watch her leap up and charge to the window if she hears a dog outside. The resultant barking GET OFF MY LAWN INTRUDER -- that's what I think she's saying in Dogtalk -- is ferocious.

When it gets dark and the walkers are gone she reverts to comatose dog.

Mini Rant-Like Observations

Every once in a while my brain gets clogged up with some snarky bitchy wacky brilliant observations about my world and I feel compelled to share them. Call it therapy.

Dear Hair on My Head: I give up. The humidity is 99% and y'all are going to twist yourselves into some crazy shapes, so much so that I look like a troll doll with a bad perm. Have fun. I don't care any more.

Dear Price-Pfister: I called you weeks ago about my drippy faucet and you promised to send another one, free of charge. Where is it? Are you too busy trying to tell people not to pronounce the "p" in "pfister"?!?

Dear folks who make pants with elastic waistbands: all of us over age 50 thank you. Seriously. THANK YOU. [if I had lived in the time when women had to wear corsets I would've lost my mind, or just stayed home most of the time..]

Dear computer: why is it that when I am in a Word document I have to make the font size 16 in order to read properly, then if I cut and paste that into an email it looks comically/insanely HUGE? I am nearsighted and I like to type without my glasses on. Stop messing with me. Make the paper bigger or something.

Dear people who send out spam labeled SENIOR DATING (which I accidentally opened): why is the only photo in that email of a girl about 20 years old?! Where are the attractive seniors? Or are you aiming for high school seniors?! ACK.

Dear HGTV: I have figured out why you attract so many viewers. It's really simple. Most of the people on your shows have messy, disorganized homes. We look at those homes and feel better about OUR messy, disorganized homes. Then you bring in magical designer people [Property Brothers, Love It Or List It, etc.] who transform those dirty, messy, "dated" homes into castles. I used to fantasize about guys. Now I fantasize about living in a designer home -- except my ideal home has a lot of carpet and a Dyson vacuum cleaner..

Dear Mother Nature: I know my front lawn is pathetic. Ever since the water people dug up half of it to fix a broken water main there are a million rocks out there. I don't have the money to sue the SOBs or to buy expensive sod. BUT... now we've had so much rain it looks like a mushroom farm out there. Couldn't you at least send some trolls or fairies or something to live among the mushrooms and entertain me and Lola?!

Another Dear Mother Nature: why did you kill all my tomato plants but leave the eggplant plant?! I'm allergic to eggplant. Months ago, I sent my son to buy a cucumber plant and he came back with an eggplant plant. It thrives, as if to mock me.

Dear Words With Friends: MOOCHY should totally be a word. It's true of so many people. Work on fixing that please.

Dear Lola: I love you very much, but you snore like a dying freight train plagued by intermittent explosions from both ends. If I wanted to listen to that all night I would've gotten married. If you will sleep in the family room every night, there's a Milkbone in it for you. [Shut up. I know Lola reads my blog]

Dear people who made the film Florence Foster Jenkins: you are very cruel. You put High Grant [still eye candy!] in a film with Meryl Streep - which SHOULD be a divine match - and THEN you have Meryl sing off-key -- very very off-key - to the point it's quite painful to hear. (I studied voice for 5 years and sang professionally when I was young, so it's particularly painful to me.) Were you smoking crack when you came up with this?!? I will not be seeing this film in the theater. However, I might watch it at home on DVD because here at home I can operate the MUTE button very skillfully...

 

Facebook deserves its' own set of mini-rants. I will confess I do spend probably way too much time on there when I am not working...

Dear folks who post untrue and inflammatory memes on Facebook: quit it or I will take you out of my newsfeed.

Dear God/Universe/Buddha/whoever: everyone is posting their cute photos of their kids going back to school. Thanks. I feel very OLD.

Dear heavenly father or whoever: thank you so much for the photo of an old classmate of mine who, despite the advanced age of 54, looks incredibly attractive. It gives me hope that if I ever win the lottery I can find a husband my own age who is still a hottie. They are out there!

This and That

Every once in a while it occurs to me that not all of my friends are on Facebook, but some of them that don't do Facebook DO read my blog. I think wow, my life is pretty boring and quiet and there's not much to tell, but then I realize well, I post little things on Facebook and sometimes Twitter and I can share those on my blog as well.

So here are some tidbits of information - observations - anecdotes - etc.

We are easing into hot weather this week. Tomorrow it's supposed to go up to 84! ACK! I dread the heat. It's the one big drawback about living in Atlanta, the heat in the summer. However, we have nice weather 6 months of the year, winters usually mean decent weather [no snow or ice] 95% of the time, and in summer we stay inside the air conditioned confines of home or in the pool or at the lake. We don't get snowstorms or hurricanes or earthquakes. The beach is 5 hours away, the mountains 1 hour away. I still would rather live here than anywhere else.

After trying my patience a great deal recently, my son is acting better, knock wood. Not perfect, but better. He had gotten really obnoxious. I keep reminding myself... he's 19. He was argumentative with the doctor at his checkup last week, then apologized, and the doctor said "Don't worry about it. I have a 19 year old son," and he looked at me and shrugged. Nice man.

I posted this a few minutes ago: Every once in a while I find myself saying something I NEVER in a million years thought I would say - and I get tickled as the words leave my mouth. It started when I adopted my daughter in 2004 and within a few days I found myself saying "DON'T WALK ON THE SOFA!" Just a few minutes ago I found myself saying to Michael "DON'T BITE THE DOG!" [FYI - He was just playing. Lola's tail was wagging.]

[from yesterday] After working all day yesterday I kept thinking "I'll rest tomorrow. It's Sunday." Um.... nope. Already walked Lola, watered all my outdoor plants and the garden, fertilized and weeded the roses, made tuna salad for Mom, and cleaned out a bunch of old papers I was happy to throw away. Now I'm fixing to run to the drugstore. Then I need to sweep the stairs, clean the kitchen, run a load of clothes, cook dinner, and shower. Maybe I can rest tomorrow... [today I paid bills, fixed Mike's breakfast, fixed Mom's breakfast and lunch, walked Lola, swept the stairs [too tired yesterday], washed and put away a load of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and polished the silver]

Every day remaining in the week I am working [from home]. Sunday afternoon I am helping Michael write a paper.

The fun never ends.

I have watched this video of what it's like to parachute into Neyland Stadium more than once and it's thrilling every time. I have been to games in that stadium many times, since I lived in Knoxville for 20 years. Never flew in and landed like a bird though!

[from last night] I love fresh garlic. I just started some homemade salad dressing by mincing 2 fat garlic gloves and mixing them with about 2 tablespoons olive oil, some fresh squeezed lemon juice (lime works better), and sea salt. If you make sort of a paste with the garlic, olive oil, and sea salt, the garlic flavor infuses the oil. Just before tossing in the veggies I will add some crumbled feta cheese. My mother developed this recipe years ago and I've never seen anyone not like her salad. / Of course, the stupid part is when you don't wash your garlicky hand carefully enough and then you rub your eyes. That's fun.

Lola has learned that when I leave the house to go to the store or to run an errand that Granny will give her Nilla wafers. So yesterday I ran to the drugstore and while I was gone Lola got right next to Mother's chair and Mother ignored her. She was playing Farmville. Lola got tired of waiting for her treat and put her head back and HOWLED! It tickled Mom. It was very clear what Lola wanted.

She is our comic relief.

Love the meme below. So true.

Gardening and More

It could not possibly be more beautiful outside, and I am itching to get out there. The other day I planted seeds of zucchini, cherry tomatoes, Brandywine tomatoes, and basil, in paper cups. I have some green beans seeds I may just plant in the soil this afternoon. They aren't hard to get to grow. I ordered seeds from Amazon of butter lettuce and brussels sprouts.

I need to carefully plan a trip to Pike's to get my gardening mojo really going. I started a list on my phone of everything I need.

I have been composting most of the winter, and much to my amazement, I have some really healthy looking volunteer plants that have come up, that I cannot identify. Can you? If so, dorp me a comment. I took this photo a few days ago and these are already about 6 inches high!

Now, these are the veggie scraps that get thrown out a lot around here: asparagus, onion [already seeing those come up], garlic [seeing those too, yay!], brussels sprouts, tomatoes, bananas, potato peels, lemon peels...

Of course, these little plants may not be any of those.

Not a lot going on around here, but let's see...

Lola has been having a lot of peeing issues - like, lots of accidents in the house, excessive water drinking, etc. We finally got her to the vet yesterday and he diagnosed her with a likely bladder infection and gave us some antibiotics for her. Huge pills. Flavored. She gobbles them down. With our last babydog, Coco, we had a horrible time trying to give her medication. She was so tiny [like, 8 lbs.] and her mouth was tiny, and she wouldn't take pills, not even bathed in butter or peanut butter. It was a nightmare. However, 60 lb. Lola is a breeze. Hallelujah!

I say "finally got her to the vet" because we were all set to take her the other day and we postponed the trip because Michael lost his wallet and was in a complete tizzy. He eventually found it, and learned a lesson. That's all I can really say about THAT.

I am reading a terrific book by an author I really like, Susan Meissner, called Stars Over Sunset Boulevard. We recently read another book of hers, Secrets of a Charmed Life, and it was excellent. Mother read the Sunset Boulevard book first, which often happens. She pointed out something we both thought peculiar. One of the main characters is from Alabama. She fixes what's supposedly a typical southern meal, and there are two issues there. One, she fixes succotash. I've never eaten succotash and I've lived in the South my entire life. Two, she shows an Alabama girl eating fried chicken with a knife and fork. Huh?!? Dear Susan Meissner, please don't write Southern characters that do such non-southern things! I've never eaten fried chicken with a knife and fork. Yikes.

I have become an expert maker of pimento cheese, something my mother used to make but I never liked. I like it now. I don't like pimentos, however. It's a texture thing. Ugh. I have learned to drain the pimentos and liquefy them with a hand blender, along with a couple of cloves or garlic and some tabasco. Yes, our pimento cheese has a bit of a kick, y'all. Michael, who spends most evenings out with his friends and is rarely home for dinner these days, will eat my pimento cheese late at night when he comes in. Hallelujah! I can leave his supper on a plate wrapped in foil and he won't nuke it. He wants food that literally you don't have to fix at all - easy food. Hoisting some pimento cheese onto a piece of bread fits the bill. He also likes chicken salad, but I have not mastered that, yet. [My friend LeeAnn gave us some chicken salad a while back and Michael practically licked the bowl clean.]

I have also -- after years of practice -- finally become a fairly decent chili maker. Our chili is different than most, in that we never use tough beans. Only Bush's pinto beans labeled chili beans. There is a crock pot full of chili cooking right now. I chopped up almost an entire onion, and threw in a can of Rotel along with several cloves of garlic. I like to liquefy my tomatoes and Rotel. I also use good ground sirloin.

Yes, I will admit it. I don't like chunks in my food. I liquefy a LOT of stuff around here. Of course, I am feeding my mother who is 82 and has a lot of teeth problems, so she appreciates it. We don't eat a lot of chewy food here or tough meat. We cook "low and slow" too - which is really more tasty, in all honesty. Even if Mom weren't here I would probably cook about the same way.

Below, an old photo I recently unearthed, taken just before Mom and Dad married, late 1956.

 

Freezing Outside

I took Lola to walk this morning and it was snowing. If you look closely you can see snow on her coat in the photo above. It flurried, off and on, all day. Pretty to look at but way too cold, even for me. This is supposed to be Hot-Lanta. I can live with the heat. I'm used to it. Hate this bitter cold and wind, though.

Of course, the ground was so warm there was no way that snow would stick. We have daffodils up in the front yard, and camellias blooming. Always seems weird to see blooming flowers in the snow. Then again, last week we didn't need coats. 

When my brother asked me what I wanted for Christmas a few months ago, I said BIRDHOUSES. Four of them. He got me four lovely cedar birdhouses. I was walking Lola last fall and one of my neighbors had put two of these tall green plant stands out for the garbage and I took them both. I knew I wanted to hang birdhouses on them. We love to feed birds but unfortunately since there's a creek behind the house, huge rats come up and eat all the bird food literally right out of the feeders. It's horrifying. So we can't really feed birds. So the houses are what we can do. We have a couple of older birdhouses in the yard and every year there are baby birds living in the houses, which is awesome. [BTW, the firepit in the photo is only there temporarily]

The last few days have been tumultuous.

Sunday night I killed a palmetto bug in my room, much to my horror. I HATE those things. Huge roaches. UGH. The exterminator guy is coming out Thursday. I had a hard time sleeping Sunday night because the dang bug was just a couple of feet from my bed when I killed it.

Michael learned some very sad news Sunday, late morning. One of his buddies shot himself. Michael was SO upset. This boy was a good friend. Not a super close friend, but a good friend. I talked really hard to Michael about going on to work, because it was Superbowl Sunday and he works at a sports bar. So he went on in to work and was there from 3-11, on his feet, which is a long shift for him, as a host. Michael is not dealing with it as well as I would like to see, but he's dealing. I suggested he journal his feelings, and put a blank notebook and pen on his bed. He is just staying gone all the time, hanging out with his buddies. He didn't get in until very late last night. I cannot get him to understand that I sleep very badly when he stays out so late.

I made a blueberry cobbler yesterday and Michael has eaten most of it, which is fine. He goes for hours without eating, then tends to eat junk food. Blueberries are pretty nutritious, compared to most of the junk food he likes. I just worry about him not eating right. We have healthful food in the house, but it's hard to get him to eat it. He's rarely here for dinner any more.

Today is Shrove Tuesday and Mom and I had pancakes and sausage. Very yummy. Totally off the diet. Ate some carrots later in the evening because I actually missed having a vegetable!

I have not decided what, if anything, I will do for Lent. You don't have to only give up something. You can also take on something, like an additional obligation - working extra hours, doing something for a neighbor, etc. It's supposed to be a time of reflection. If the weather were better I would try to do some major garage cleaning, but it's too cold right now.

I was hoping Mike would come home for dinner, and strongly suggested it, but he's off with his buddies. He will probably not get in until late and then he will just demolish the rest of the cobbler.

That's all I know to report. Stay warm!

Reflections and Looking Forward

At my advanced age birthdays really aren't supposed to be that big of a deal, but I felt pretty overwhelmed yesterday by all the good wishes, cute photos, etc. that got posted on Facebook. I posted this last night:

I feel quite overwhelmed by all the lovely birthday wishes! I hope everyone has had a relaxing and fun day!

For me, it has been a terrific day, filled with visits with friends and family members, including lunch with the lovely Lee Ann and her wonderful family, and a long phone visit with Lesleigh Ellinger, cousin and BFF. My brother is here right now working in my yard - the gift of two fig trees and fixing various issues in my yard, which is much appreciated. He also brought lobster tails for dinner! Yum! Feeling very blessed!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe evening - catch some fireworks if possible, but please comfort the animals who may be scared. Lola heard fireworks last night and climbed right up in Michael's lap for some TLC.

above, some shots from lunch yesterday, including a rare one of me and my friend Bill!

I was telling my brother this morning, 2015 has been such a difficult year for me, until very recently. Not feeling well for months really takes a toll. Feeling woozy and lightheaded so much [due to very low blood pressure because of the heart issue] has meant that I seldom left the house. Driving made me too nervous. So yesterday's lunch with my friend Lee Ann and her family was the first time getting out of the house to socialize in about 6 months.

I was a tiny bit nervous, I will admit. I ran to the potty about 3 times - feeling a bit nervous makes me need to tinkle more often. The company was wonderful. The food was wonderful. It was just that I was feeling ancy and a little claustrophobic. It seems that the older I get, the less I like being around crowds and noise. I don't even want to go to a movie theater any more, preferring to wait until movies are available from Netflix.

Bruce is a dedicated Sam's shopper and he brought in some wonderful, huge scallops, and he had found lobster tails on sale. While he and Michael did yard work, I fixed those and some baked potatoes, and we had homegrown tomatoes from the garden, and homegrown cucumbers. Wonderful dinner.

I had told Bruce I wanted a small tree for my birthday. He brought me two small fig trees. He has a friend who has an orchard, so the figs came highly recommended. Bruce was trying to get them planted, and get some mulch distributed late yesterday afternoon, because rain is predicted for today, again. Michael helped him and Bruce said he did a great job.

Yesterday afternoon I made my own birthday cake - a Chocolate Salted Caramel Sour Cream Cake. Very yummy.

Bruce brought a few fireworks and he and Mike had fun with those last night. Michael was invited to a big fireworks display but logistically we just couldn't work it out, plus dinner and a movie with uncle Bruce. We ate late.

It has really only been in the last 8-10 days that I have felt pretty much back to my normal energy level, about 90% of it anyway. Last week I went out by myself in the car several times, something that had brought on panic attacks for months. Now, the pacemaker means my heart doesn't race or drag sluggishly, and so I can actually drive 10 minutes to CVS, walk in and get a few things, and come home, and not have a panic attack. I also picked up some food from a local Greek place for dinner Friday night, all by myself - a triumph for my self-confidence and a rare treat for us.

I am still processing (mentally and emotionally) the past 18 months or so, since my health has been so out of whack. I was close to death by late May, but of course I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I just knew my world was shrinking and even walking up a flight of steps was a chore. I turned down several jobs I was offered just because the thought of driving to an office and dealing with normal work stress was overwhelming. Only in hindsight can one look back and see things clearly.

I do have the feeling the rest of my life needs to be more focused on health and well-being, and trying to approach things with less angst and more faith.

I am also trying to not make pronouncements to myself, like "I will never be in a relationship again." A friend of mine, a bit older than me, just started a new romance, and I am so pleased for her. Never say never.

Michael has certainly felt a lot of stress in recent months from watching my health decline, and he is still processing it. He was working 3 jobs a few weeks ago and is now down to one job, taking some time off to relax this summer. As my health and outlook have improved, I have seen an improvement in him. He was very worried about his mama, and since I am his only parent..

What a blessing it has been in recent months to be able to work from home. A real answer to prayers.

My current main job is a seasonal one, and so in August I need to find something else to do. I'd like it to be something involving writing or editing, but if an interesting legal job comes along I will certainly consider that. I'd love to be able to continue to work from home, but I will just have to see what happens.

At least I feel optimistic now about being able to handle the normal stress of work.

 

Below is a sight which does my heart good, my boy and his dog...

Lola At Table

At dinner every night Lola tries her best to get up in a chair and steal food off the table. It's annoying but also funny. She barks. She whines. She cries.

We usually put plates and dishes on the floor for her to lick.

She also loves broccoli and asparagus.

Last night, she realized Mother had moved a box out of the chair next to her, and she worked and worked until she got up on the chair. Mother keeps saying she needs a high chair. I love the dog but that's going a bit far.

Anyway, when I saw Lola trying to get up on the chair I grabbed my phone and took photos.

Mother shouldn't have given her a morsel of pumpkin bread -- that's encouraging bad behavior IMHO -- but whatever..

The Wake-Up Call

My friend Maria came over last night and we had a good visit. We have been friends for about 16 years, since we both worked at the same law firm. I hadn't seen her in months. I sent her an email this morning:

Thanks so much for coming over last night. I had gotten pretty isolated in recent months, not going anywhere, just trying to summon the energy every day to do what I had to do to take care of Mother and Michael and Lola. I needed a reminder that I need my friends, too, and God gave me quite a jolting wake-up call with the trip to the hospital. Still feeling pretty weak but I have hope now that I can and will feel better, soon.

My neighbor came over this morning and helped me with wrapping Mother's legs, and took Lola on a short walk. She would've made breakfast, too, except I told her I could handle that. Such a lovely and caring person. So I made breakfast for Mother and myself, then I had to sit down for an hour to rest. That's frustrating.

I am pondering a lot of things, feeling really philosophical this morning. I think everything happens for a reason. Processing an experience like this heart issue is a big job. I used to always be in such a hurry. I am now trying to really notice and savor tiny things, like the bird songs drifting through my window, the velvety texture of Lola's ears, the scent of gardenias when I walk out my front door, and even how much I love hot tea with just a teaspooon of honey. Things I used to take utterly for granted. 

Isn't it ironic that now we have passed the half-century mark it's like waking up in a totally different life? The cliche is true, you cannot appreciate anything until you lose it, or almost lose it. I have had a sense for a while that death was nearby, and possibly my time was coming to an end, but of course the thought of leaving my little family, particularly Mother, Michael, and Lola, was nearly unbearable.

So God gave me another chance. I have been reprieved. I don't know for how long, but I am going to try hard and make my life more meaningful. I don't know how it will all work out. I am so grateful, though, to be surrounded by so many caring people.

XOXOXOX

Dee

I had put the blue throw over the loveseat in an attempt to not get dog hair all over Maria -- so Lola of course wanted to get up there with her! She tried to get in Maria's lap, and sniff her face for any errant crumbs...

My Dog Plays X-Box

I got up this morning and found this. Lola has been staying up half the night playing X-Box with Michael. She was exhausted. That Civilization Revolution game is addictive.

I told her that Michael needs his sleep. He doesn't need to stay up all night playing videogames with her. She said she has tried to quit but she can't... and she might need to go to a 12 step program soon... one that supplies donuts to the addicts..

She pointed out that she has been a good influence on him lately. She has gotten him to eat more salads -- spinach and gorgonzola last night, from the restaurant where he works.

Lola loves fruits and vegetables and tries to set a good example for the boy. She will eat broccoli florets all day long.

[We won't mention the unfortunate sight of her in my room the other day sucking on an old banana peel. So unladylike.]

Lola also promised she wouldn't growl at the yard men and attack the back door any more, knocking out the glass panels. (Took Michael and his friend a couple of hours the other day to get the new glass cut and fix the panel.)

She tries to be a good example. In addition to eating broccoli, cucumbers, bananas, and even jalapenos, she exercises me every day, walking me around the neighborhood. In return, when Mother and Michael call Lola fat or make rude remarks about her belly I point out that she is merely BIG BONED. It's a basset hound fact. She can't help it.

She stalks the squirrels in the yard. Her body goes rigid when she sees one on the grass near her. She told me we just need to set some traps and get rid of those pesky squirrels. After all, they are why we can't feed the birds. Lola feels like it would only take 2-4 squirrels to make her a lovely fur jacket. I pointed out that the squirrels are welcome in our yard and we would never harm them, and she said I was NO FUN AT ALL.

Good thing it's a cool rainy day, the type of day where Lola just lounges on the couch most of the day. She needs her rest after last night's x-box marathon...

Broken Glass

It's been a really quiet week. I've been working on some writing projects and I've got a work from home assignment. I guess it was time for a little drama around here.

The yard service I use hasn't had much to do this winter, of course, but I keep them on because they are reliable and keep the yard neat. I talked to the head guy late yesterday afternoon and explained we needed the big hydrangea behind Mother's window cut back, so she can see out. The bushes in the front had gotten really scraggly, too. So the yard guys were tasked with more than their usual stuff.

While they worked, I was here at the computer in my room, and Lola was downstairs barking furiously. I didn't pay any attention, because she barks like that at any human who comes into our yard. They finally finished and she quit and came up to my room and jumped on the bed and went to sleep. Barking is exhausting. This is her pattern.

A little while later I got up and noticed that she was licking her front paw a lot. That's when I noticed the old blanket I keep on my bed to protect the spread had blood on it. I grabbed some paper towels and looked at the paw. She cut the pad on the bottom. I got the blood stanched and called a friend who is a vet. I texted her a photo of the paw. She said it's nearly impossible to stitch that area because the moment the dog walks on it the stitches pop, and it's hard to keep a dog real quiet and still long enough for healing. I got a bandage on her foot -- twice -- and it fell off both times as soon as she walked.

Lola hadn't cried or yelped when she cut the foot, and wasn't crying or seeming particularly upset when I was doctoring on her.

When I went downstairs a little later to finish dinner, I realized what had happened. Lola had hit the back door so hard she broke one of the glass panels in the door.

Fortunately we have a neighbor who does handyman work and he's going to come and fix the door today.

Lola's paw stopped bleeding pretty quickly and she seems totally fine this morning, although a lot more quiet than usual. I gave her some sliced avocado last night at dinner. It's full of vitamins and hopefully it will help with healing. I don't think the vet can do anything but if she seems worse of course I will take her to the vet.

In other news... Michael has become obsessed with an X-Box game called Civilization. He gets some history lessons there which is great, but playing X-Box all night is not conducive to good study and work habits. I keep trying to get him to get into better sleeping and eating patterns but it's an uphill battle. He's a teenager.

Mother isn't feeling well this morning.

It occurred to me the other day, I am trying to care for an 81 year old and an 18 year old, and I am right in the middle. Both ages have their particular issues. Mother is a lot more reasonable, of course. She doesn't throw dirty clothes on the floor, play with her phone constantly, call everything "stupid," stay up half the night playing videogames, or talk obsessively about her next tattoo. It would make a funny sort of Freaky Friday movie if she changed places with Michael for a day, though. I am thinking she would ace his schoolwork and he would put the X-Box on the TV in her room, and there would be all sorts of hilarity.

And I would still be in the middle. On second thought.... maybe not. Let's just go with the status quo...