Riley — Page 16

Oh, For Some Sleep

July 7, 2012 at 9:57 am by Claudia

It’s 9:30 in the morning and I sit here, barely awake. I had to drive to Connecticut to pick Don up yesterday and we both thought the best way to handle all the hours away from Riley would be to make the trip in the late evening and early morning hours when he’s asleep. So, still sleep deprived, I headed out around 8:30, arrived at 11:30 and with a quick stop for something to eat, we arrived home at close to 3 am. I slept for about an hour on the way home, but the cumulative effect of my lack of sleep has really knocked me for a loop.

Riley’s exhausted today – he had a restless night. Yesterday, in the middle of the afternoon, he got up by himself. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He walked around a lot and even tried eating his dinner in a standing position. He can’t maintain that for very long, but bless his heart, he gave it a try.

Oh, for some sleep.

We’re home safe and sound and the dogs are sleeping and it’s supposed to be 96 degrees today.

Happy Saturday.

Riley and Scout: The State of Things

July 6, 2012 at 8:13 am by Claudia

We’ve been parked in the living room for days now. Maneuvering down the two steps into the den is done rarely. We have the air conditioner in the kitchen running constantly and it keeps both rooms nicely cool.

I’ve covered the rug with a large mat. Since Riley can’t always control his bladder or bowels, it just makes life easier for all of us. Bless his heart, though, he still does his best to let me know he has to take care of business and, more often than not, we make it outside in time.

Riley can’t get up by himself anymore. There’s always hope that might change, but for now, when I sense he’s trying to get up, I run over and lift him. He can walk; sometimes with relative ease and other times with great difficulty. He falls over a lot. And when he does stand, he can’t stay upright too long unless he’s moving. When he walks around the room and keeps moving, he does a pretty good job of it. To help him with that, I bought these:

They’re unattractive, but who cares about that at the moment? They give him traction as he moves from the living room to the kitchen. They’ve really made a big difference.

His appetite is still very healthy. He loves to eat. And he drinks a lot of water. Occasionally – and when it happens, I feel a spurt of happiness – he joins in on one of Scout’s extended barking arias. She barks, he barks, she barks, he barks. Just like they used to. When that happens, I jump right in and bark along with them.

Scout is concerned. Whenever I’m trying to maneuver him, she’s right in the midst of things; frankly, she gets in the way. But she knows, as dogs do, that he’s not well and it worries her.

This morning she’s in ‘the tunnel’.

It’s her safe place. She’s almost fully recovered, by the way. Every once in a while she stumbles and I notice that she lies down a bit more carefully than she used to. Otherwise, she’s back to her feisty, naggy, funny little self.

That’s where we are at the moment. As for me, I’m sleep deprived. I go a little stir crazy at times. I wish I could open the windows. Some fresh air and the sound of birds would be welcome as I sit in the chair watching over my boy.

It’s not time yet. As Don says, we’ll know when it’s time. Right now, he’s sleeping peacefully. For that I am grateful.

Happy Friday.

Sunday Snaps 2

July 1, 2012 at 8:02 am by Claudia

Whew. It’s been a tough week here at the cottage. Scout is recovering from her illness. Riley is getting more and more frail and needs constant help navigating around the room. He can’t get up from the floor by himself any longer. But he’s got a formidable appetite and scarfs down his food. So, for now, I’ll do everything I can to help him stay with us. My back went out earlier in the week, but is much better now.

I looked around at the three of us, sitting here in the living room, and thought: We’re the walking wounded!

So, let’s look at some Sunday Snaps; this week, a view of life around the cottage garden.

One of our little chippies, up in the sugar maple tree (taken from my hidden spot just inside the kitchen door.)

Coneflowers are appearing here and there throughout the garden.

The impatiens that self-seeded are flourishing under the wooden bench on the funky patio. They like the shade. There are other babies cropping up here and there, as well. See the little red impatiens blossom in the upper right hand corner of the photo?

Here’s another one. Wouldn’t it be great if, eventually, all the little spaces between the pavers were filled with impatiens? That would definitely bring a smile to my face.

The hydrangeas are gorgeous this year. Time to bring some in to put in the McCoy vase on the coffee table.

Another view of this little cutie. Oh my goodness, I love chipmunks. And we have several hanging around the cottage this year, more than I’ve ever seen. I need to get some peanuts and try to feed them by hand, like my friend Donna does.

Since I’ve finished another round of two days of lawn mowing, today I plan to buy some non-skid mats for Riley. It won’t contribute much to the ‘charming’ look of the living room and kitchen, but, hopefully, it will help him get around. The wood floors are just plain impossible for him nowadays.

Happy Sunday.

Oh, For Some Sleep

Riley and Scout: The State of Things

Sunday Snaps 2

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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