life — Page 309

Worried

November 19, 2012 at 8:01 am by Claudia

Scoutie hasn’t been feeling well for the past few days. She hasn’t been interested in food. I’ve had to entice her with special things like rice and eggs. She’s been a bit agitated and not like herself. We ended up taking her to the Vet yesterday. She’s been put on some antibiotics and some blood work is being done. Unfortunately, she threw up everything not long after I gave her her first pill. So I’m going to try again this morning. We’re not sure what’s going on. She has fluid swellings on her rear legs which we’ve known about and have been keeping an eye on. She breathes more heavily as she’s aged and she definitely could stand to lose some weight. It could be anything and that’s what has me worried.

I was on the phone with the doctor a few times yesterday. Found out she has Lyme again, as well. That means she’ll be on two antibiotics. I’m worried about her. She’s slowed down a bit in the last few years but for a 13 year old dog, she has been amazingly peppy. Please say a prayer for her, my friends. We need your positive thoughts.

Not to make this about me, but there is so much on my plate right now in terms of ‘life decisions’ that I am completely overwhelmed. I seem to exist in a state of worry and tension and fear and that isn’t good. I know. I always try to acknowledge my blessings but there are times when I can’t see them. Ironic, during this Thanksgiving week. I try to keep this blog a fairly happy place but, friends, it’s a tough time for us.

Trying to stay positive.

Happy Monday.

Funky & Magical Dining

November 18, 2012 at 9:13 am by Claudia

I’m not much for fancy restaurants. I have never felt entirely comfortable in them. I feel like I have to be on my best behavior, like a little girl in her very best dress, ham-strung with warnings not to get a stain on it or spill anything.

If I have a choice, it will always be for comfortable and funky. The funkiest restaurant I’ve ever seen is in a little town in our area. Yesterday, Don and I took a little drive and had lunch there.

Every single inch of space – walls, ceiling, floors – is covered with paintings, decoration, tchotchkes, you name it. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s so whimsical: part souvenirs, part Asian influence, part decorative painting, part dumpster diving treasures, part sparkle and glitter.

Hubcaps on the ceiling.

Paintings on the wall.

Our table was a painting: trees, water, horses.

And the food is unbelievably good.

Don drinking his Decaf.

Me, sans makeup, looking a wee bit sleepy. Don took this and really likes it, so even though I don’t like photos of me without makeup, here goes. Me: on the cusp of a big birthday.

This is on the wall in the entry:

I love these words. After some googling, I found the source.

Isn’t the restaurant magical and wonderful? I wish I could have taken even more photos (all of them via the iPhone, by the way) but I didn’t want to intrude on the other patrons.

It just might be one of my favorite places to eat.

Happy Sunday.

Making Music on a Chalkboard

November 16, 2012 at 8:53 am by Claudia

Early morning. I’m in that stage where I’m just beginning to ease out of sleep into wakefulness. And what flashes through my foggy mind? Being in music class as a kid and wishing I could use the cool chalk holder thingy that the teacher employed to draw the musical staff on the chalkboard. Remember those? They were wire contraptions attached to a wooden handle and there were 5 holders for chalk. The teacher would glide the chalk across the board and suddenly there was a musical staff. The next thing to appear would be the treble clef, then notes, measures, sharps and flats.

I wanted one. Or rather, I wanted to be able to walk up to the front of the classroom, take that holder in my hands and make a muscial staff magically appear. (I was that kind of kid – always wanted to write on the chalkboard, be class monitor, that kind of thing,)

I hadn’t thought of them in years and assumed they were no longer in use. Because I now think that anything used in my childhood must be vintage and retro nowadays. (If I see one more item from my childhood labeled “Antique” on Craigslist, I am going to scream.) Surely there must be some new high-tech way of drawing a staff?

So, hoping to find a photo of one, I googled ‘musical staff chalk’ and found lots of them available. New ones. On eBay, on Amazon, everywhere. Teachers are still using them. Sigh of happiness.

This one is made by Quartet. It’s officially called a Wood Music Staff Liner.

I want one. I could use it on my chalkboard.

I could pretend I was the Music Teacher. I could compose a little melody.

But even better? Finding a vintage liner. I could hang it on my wall. Wouldn’t that be cool? I suppose if I can’t find a vintage liner, I could ‘age’ a new one. But I like vintage, as you know.

One sleepy thought = a search and a Friday post.

Thanks for all the wonderful tips on getting back to sleep. It looks like I am in good company. So many of us struggle with this. And I can’t blame it on menopause because that particular pain-in-the-tush is over, thank goodness. In fact, next Wednesday is my birthday and it’s rather a big one.

How can that be? I’m still around 39 in my head and heart.

I’m wearing black that day.

I’ll be back at 8:00 EST with A Favorite Thing.

Happy Friday.

Worried

Funky & Magical Dining

Making Music on a Chalkboard

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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