Uninterrupted Sleep Last Night

 

Maggie’s usual “happy face”

Our Maggie has been under the weather for almost a week.  Darnedest thing – she has been absolutely normal in every aspect during the day, but would become sick to her stomach at night, usually between 2:30 and 4:00 AM.  She would upchuck once and then be fine.  By the time I would clean up (I started using potty training pads after this happened twice) and then sit with her a while to make sure she was okay (which she was totally fine afterwards), I just got dressed and started my day.  Learned a long time ago that if I force myself to go back to sleep and then am awakened a couple of hours later with an alarm . . . well . . . I’m better off to just stay up.

Good news with that is a beef stew got into the crock pot by 5 AM one morning!

Of course, this all pretty much started leading into the weekend.  Don’t pets always feel ill on weekends?  She was not an emergency case, again, being absolutely right as rain except for the early-morning episodes.  I did, however, get her into the vet Monday morning.  After two vet trips, an x-ray, laboratory studies and medications, she slept soundly last night.

Running on three to four hours of sleep (with no naps during the day), I have been absolutely wasted.  In fact, I was just about too tired to go to sleep last night.  Gets to the point where one has one ear open expecting her to wake up and be sick . . . kinda makes it tough to drift off into the Dreamtime.

Nevertheless, she started snoozing immediately (thanks to the meds!) and I finally conked out . . . only to wake up at 4 AM on my own.  Wide awake and feeling a bit more rested simply from not being jolted awake by the sound of a heaving doggie.

Good grief.  Oh well.  We got up and came over to the office.

Of course, in an RV, if one person and dog get up and start moving around, even carefully, there’s a good chance the other human will wake up, too.  So all three of us were up again early this morning.

I have to say I’ve enjoyed being up and about as the birds wake up.  Early mornings this time of year are special.  I just don’t want to make a habit of sharing a cup of coffee with the birds that early.

We’re hoping Maggie has turned the corner on this episode for her sake and ours.  This has made our beach holiday plans have the consistency of Jell-o.  Taking Maggie traveling while ill would not be fair to her or us; it really would not be much of a holiday and I would be concerned about being away from her vet.  The beach house rental is paid for, so Dave has said if Maggie is “iffy” for traveling, he will stay here with her and I should go have a girl’s getaway/writer’s retreat, probably needing the “down time” more than he does.

I’m hopeful all three of us will be going.  It certainly would be strange to not be together, although I could dig a writer’s retreat.  At this point, though, my blog posts would consist of describing where I napped for what portion of the day.  Ha!  “This morning I slept late and then napped on the couch watching Turner Classic Movies.  This afternoon I napped on the deck, lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.  Think I’ll turn in early.”  I am so very sleep-deprived!

Today was interesting around here . . .

First time a chopper has landed in our front yard!

This was a work-related event, not an emergency landing.  I think it’s kinda cool to see our rig in the background.  It’s certainly not an everyday occurrence.  I’ve been up in choppers before and really, really love flying in one; however, this wasn’t for joy riding and it wasn’t necessary for me to go along.  Still, I had an absolutely whiz-bang time watching.  The pilot was good; he could fly that bird.  Taking off was a bit trickier than landing due to the road and embankment going up the mountain to the right (not in  photo), trees and wires.  Yep, he definitely could fly that baby.

As an oil and gas accountant at Exxon (in one of my previous lives), my fields were all offshore.  Every once in a while I’d spend the day on a rig in one of my fields.  The chopper pilots were all Viet Nam veterans.  I always felt totally safe with them; if they made it through that, they could shuttle me 20 miles out in the Gulf to a rig and back.  Now they could fly. 

 

Feels like a lifetime ago . . .

I got the nickname “Radar” out on the rigs, because I could always hear/sense the chopper coming to pick us up about five minutes before it would arrive.  Don’t know how or why, just did.

 

Busted by “Big Brother!”  They must have been testing the camera, so there’s a photo of me taking a photo.  Cool.

Hope this post was coherent.  I’m also hoping for another night of uninterrupted slumber, hopefully a little longer in duration.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guess Who Has Appeared?

 

Spotted on our evening stroll yesterday evening, Cat being “invisible”

Can’t recall if I mentioned it here, but I was concerned and saddened that I had not seen the feral cat yet this year.  This cat has been here – and who knows where else – since we have, and that is three-plus years now. 

Cat is rather skittish, definitely not just a neighbor’s pet.  Tame cats typically will come up and make friends, but not Cat.  Cat and I seem to have come to somewhat of an understanding.  If Cat happens to be lounging in the grass near the road as I walk by, he (I think Cat is male) will remain in place, albeit doing his best to be “invisible” and watching me.  He even tolerates my talking to him as I walk by.  That is progress; in early days, Cat would go scampering away.  Cat typically makes daily rounds here, hanging out on the property quite a bit.

From the get, I purposely did not try to feed, catch or tame Cat, thinking it would be unfair to do so and then our assignment would end and . . . well, sharing our life with a kitty just isn’t practical.  I did not want Cat to become dependent on us and then we would have to leave.

Cat seems to be healthy and reasonably well-groomed for a feral, but certainly does not have that “kept cat” look of being routinely cared for, and I’ve never seen him injured.  He certainly must be hardy to endure year after year in these conditions.

Perhaps Cat really is a member of someone’s family and just prowls.  Perhaps someone around here provides food and shelter of some sort.  Obviously Cat found shelter during this harsh Winter and was fed.  He was in my thoughts throughout all those snowy, cold days and nights.  Yesterday was the first time I had seen Cat in 2014, and it gladdened my heart to spot him in one of his usual lounging places.

I saw Cat again this morning making his rounds along the fence line in our “front yard.”  He spotted me at a distance, we looked at one another, and he continued his patrol.

All is right in the Universe.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

And Then the Rains Came

 

It started coming down this morning and has not let up except for two lulls within the past hour.  Radar indicates we’re looking at another batch of heavy rain through tonight.

 

The Musconetcong has risen almost 3 feet today to 4.92 feet (gage height) about an hour ago, according to USGS Water Watch.  During Hurricane Irene in 2011, it got to 8.42 feet and breached its banks here.  (Yep, I’ve kept data on the river heights during previous storms.)  I’m thinking we’ll be okay tonight. Our “go” bag is ready, however.

 

Our front yard about 30 minutes ago.  The pond  has enlarged since then. 

 

There’s usually no water in this drainage ditch, which flows into the Musky.  That’s about 2-3 feet in the ditch.  It’s runoff from the community – streets, etc..

 

One of the parts I ordered still has not arrived at the dealership.  I wouldn’t have been going to pick them up today, anyway, so no harm no foul.

I’m listening to both Warren and Hunterdon Counties police/fire/EMS scanners on my laptop.  It’s another resource which helps me stay aware of of what’s happening in the communities around us.  Just heard about a mudslide (small compared to what’s been in the national news lately, I’m sure) near the county fairgrounds with some mud down on the road.  Pump details have been called into the fire squads; folks must be experiencing flooding of their basements.  That’s fairly common here with good-sized storms such as this.

My joints have been screaming today – aching – I’m sure due to the low pressure in the atmosphere.  Ouch.  Can’t say it’s because I’m getting older, as I’ve experienced this my entire life.  My Dad used to track the barometric pressure when I’d get a flare.  Sure enough, the pressure would pretty darn low or dropping. 

As a result of the rains, today has been darn quiet around here.  We’ve had no visitors.  Can’t imagine why, eh?

Hope you’re having a good evening and that you’re safe and dry!

Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoying a Nice Today, Because . . .

 

. . . later this evening, a slow-moving rain event will join us for the next few days.

It is finally, truly Spring here!  Yay!

 

 

Dave mowed earlier today, as I have been hanging in the office.  It’s a busy day around here with people coming and going, so it works out better that I hang in the office and he is out on the property. 

Our “front yard” after mowing

Last week I ordered a couple of parts for our rig and am waiting to hear if they arrived at the dealership.  It’s about 25 miles from here and will make a nice road trip to pick up the items.  It’s getting on into the afternoon already, so I’m not sure if I’ll make it there today.  If not, I’ll head over Friday or Saturday.  I haven’t been to this particular dealership before.  I’m like the proverbial kid in the candy store at an RV place, always taking time to wander the store aisles and then wander through rigs on the lot.  This one is a Montana dealer, so I’m looking forward to checking out the new models.  Not that we’re in the market, mind you.

The exhaust fan over our range vents to the outside via a flap that is under a hood on the side of the rig.  Turns out that flap is plastic and is held in place by two tabs at the top.  You know what plastic can do when it is subzero temperatures and pretty windy?  Yep, it can crack and/or break.  One of the tabs broke.  The flap is held in place but obviously not operational.  That’s one of the items.  The other is a new assembly for the shower.  We have a vertical pipe that has a slide/tilt attachment on it for the shower head.  Needed to replace that.  Neither is very expensive and definitely do-it-ourselves in replacing, just waiting on the parts.

We really didn’t have the weekend off, with things going on around here . . . people on the property, etc.  Perhaps just a warm-up for the activity that is supposed to be going on throughout this year.  No complaints.  Sure beats working in a stuffy building 30 miles away from one’s home.

I made a Chicken King Ranch Casserole yesterday and managed to watch The Last Time I Saw Paris via the Roku stick.  Hadn’t seen that film in ages and really enjoyed it.  Elizabeth Taylor was such a talented actress and quite lovely at that age.  Yep, I dig those classic movies.

We’re under the three-week mark until our beach trip.  Yay! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Girlfriends

 

Of course, today was the one morning this weekend/week (and I do mean the one morning as there are things work-related happening around here) I could sleep in.  What happened?  I awoke with allergies bugging me; my nose was running so much you’d think it was in the Boston Marathon.  Oh well, what else to do but get up, eh?  That was a bit before 6 AM.  Yawn.

I’m grateful that it is an absolutely gorgeous morning and that we have a washer/dryer set here in the office so I don’t have to go straggling off to a laundromat.

So.  Girlfriends. 

Over the past week I have had phone conversations and/or email from four of my close girlfriends, each encounter warming my heart, granting me laughter and enriching the bonds we share.

You know, Dave is such a sweet, fun, funny, intelligent and easy-going guy . . . I so enjoy and treasure our time with each other. 

But . . .

He’s not a gal. 

Girlfriends know you and can relate to you in a way your male spouse, partner, significant other or friend will never understand, no matter the depth of your being soul mates.  Ladies, you know what I’m talking about.  I mean, c’mon, when was the last time you talked with your male other half about the joys of making a day of prowling thrift stores, finding that incredibly cute, stylish, like-new item for a dollar?  Yes, men do experience changes as they progress through Life, but it doesn’t hold a freakin’ candle to menopause.  Just sayin’. 

I remember my Mom telling me about the importance of girlfriends.  She said that over the years relationships will come and go and there is the likelihood that one will outlive one’s husband.  In the end, what is left?  Well, relatives, of course, and children if you have them, but . . . girlfriends.  She said that the older one gets, the more important and treasured those connections will become. 

Once again, Mom was right.  I knew it then and know it now.

Thinking of that girlfriend you haven’t talked with, laughed with, in what seems eons?  Give her a call.  Take the time to indulge in a yap session.  It’s good for the soul.

Thanks for stopping by!