So, after four days back at work, my foot is actually about as sore as it was last week. I suspect that if I was still working from home, with my foot up most of the day, it would be improving. But it’s not realistic to expect to be able to work from home for forever . . . and it’s not like I’m immobile, just gimpy and slow. My mom bought me a cream from the health food store called “Traumeel” with arnica and other healing agents, so I’m using that twice a day. Hopefully it’s helping.

This weekend I’m off to a dog show. It’s Grace’s first show, and I’ve been looking forward to it for ages now. I entered her almost as soon as I could, and have been impatiently waiting for this weekend to arrive. Now I’m not even 100% sure that I’m going to be able to do a decent job of showing her with this stupid limp. This is so frustrating! I don’t particularly want to hand her off to somebody else, because I want to make sure that her first show experiences are pleasant ones. If somebody else is showing her, I have no control over what happens. And I’m not good at relinquishing control, as anybody that knows me is aware.

So, wish me luck and wish Grace luck. Hopefully she shows well despite her handicap (me!), and we have fun. What more can we ask for?

So, for some reason, I have recently discovered a whole pile of books that I want to read. A few I am borrowing from my good friend, who has really unique taste in books. She has lent me 2 of the books that are currently on my must read list. Right now I’m reading a book called “The Monk” by Matthew G. Lewis. It was published in 1796, when the author was 19. It was WAY ahead of its time then . . . it was considered very taboo. I’m about 2/3 of the way through it now, and it’s actually a really good read. Not full of action or anything like that, but definitely interesting enough to hold one’s interest.

On the shelf, ready to go, I have “Stranger Than Fiction” by Chuck Palahniuk, a collection of non-fiction short stories. Looks like a good book – the first short story is about a testicle festival (no word of a lie!), so how can a book with that kind of opening be anything short of interesting?

I just got “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini from my best friend, so I have to get it read. I’ve been looking at it in the bookstores, so I guess now I’d better get it read! I also have “Talk To The Hand” to read, which is written by the same author as “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” about punctuation, or the lack thereof, in today’s society.

On the way, from Chapters, is “The Smartest Guys In The Room” about the rise and fall of Enron. I watched the DVD in class last weekend (a full length documentary), and it was great, so I am inspired to learn more.

So lots of reading to do . . . now to find the time!

Okay, okay . . . I guess posting about all the good things in my life alerted Murphy that the law was being broken (yep, Murphy’s Law). Fortunately, of all the bad things that could happen, this is pretty low on the scale.

I was carrying something down the stairs, and my dear boy Farley left a ball on the stairs. I stepped on it, my foot rolled under the ankle, and I fell down 3 stairs. Oh my God, it hurt SO much! It hurt so much that I couldn’t even curse . . . I could only say “Ow! Ow! Ow! It hurts!.” The top of my left foot is swollen now, and it hurts like the dickens. I did go to the hospital, and the x-rays show no fracture, so it’s apparently just a bad sprain. But man, it HURTS! So I’m hobbling around like a cripple . . . gonna have to stay home from work tomorrow, because I can’t get on and off the bus with my foot like this.

Other than that, it’s actually been an okay day (nothing is as fun as spending HOURS in the hospital). My older niece has a birthday tomorrow, so we had the whole family over for supper and presents. That was fun! Grace played with my brother’s new Irish Wolfhound puppy for hours on end . . . she should sleep well tonight. Farley had to hang out in my room (he hates big dogs), but he was okay like that.

Other than that, life goes on as usual . . . dogs, school, work and TV

Seems like my life is full of good things lately, and I’m not complaining You know, sometimes it feels like everything is going wrong, but right now it just feels like it’s all going right.

Before Christmas I was approached by my old neighbour about a possible new job. I sent my resume along, and the department manager actually called me and talked to me (this is a bigger deal than it sounds like on paper). Anyhow, I met with a few people in January about it, and then things kind of fizzled for a while. Since I didn’t really hear much, I thought maybe they’d found another candidate for the job. Out of curiosity, I emailed the fellow who would be the boss yesterday, to see if they’d filled the position. A lady from Human Resources called me to tell me that I was the successful applicant. I was so sure that I wasn’t getting the job that I was quite surprised! And VERY pleased It’s a promotion of sorts . . . more than just a lateral move, anyhow. And it’s an awesome opportunity for me (within the same company). So I can’t wait to learn some of the details (transfer date, etc).

I took Grace outside to practise being a show dog tonight. It’s finally warming up enough to play outside, instead of trying to work in the house. She was pretty wound up initially, but man, when she got the hang of it she did really well. She can MOVE! It gave me little goosebumps, so now I’m looking forward to her first show. Even if she goofs around in the ring (which is to be expected, since she’s a puppy), once she finds her rhythm, I think she’s going to be a lot of fun to show.

Farley is doing well. He’s started on Missing Link Plus, which is a food supplement with glucosamine in it, and he seems to be doing well. He’s not as sore these days, and not taking as much pain medication. So that makes me really happy. I sure do love my cranky old man!

Okay, I have discovered that I have a breaking point when traveling. And somewhere in the car on highway 63, I hit that point. I’m glad to be home for a while now, because I am so tired of being on the road (or in the air). It’s nice to be sleeping in my own bed for a while now. I won’t be back on the highway for another few weeks, and that’ll be for a dog show. By then I’ll have forgotten the tiring part of the trip

I saw Van Morrison in concert on Wednesday night (think “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Moondance”). The man was absolutely incredible. He can sing, play sax, play harmonica and probably half a dozen other instruments too. He didn’t talk to the crowd at all, he just played for 90 minutes. It was great. His entire band is just so talented . . . it was a pleasure to hear them as well. On CDs I never really notice bands that much, but they were just rockin’ the other night!

It looks like Grace has finally figure out the whole pottying outside thing. I had her on a schedule before, which was working okay, as long as I didn’t slip. But now I’ve noticed that I can push the schedule a bit, and she is still waiting until she goes outside. Yippeee! She is just so happy that I’m home – she keeps coming and checking to make sure I’m still here. Too funny. And Farley is just glad to have his mom back. He’s been stuck to me like glue since I got back.

It’s back to work on Monday . . . sigh. These two weeks off have been wonderful.