Some other big news...just for me

I don't like to get too personal here; that's what FaceBook is for. But the past two weeks have been really stressful, and things are getting better. My father lost a lot of weight, and we were afraid his cancer had advanced. A good friend of the family, John Lelak, our kids' "third grandfather," got an e.coli infection and dropped 12 pounds; he was in the hospital and sounded terrible. Our dog Maud had failed to heal after popping the dog equivalent of her ACL, and had to have surgery.

Things are a lot better. Maud is recovering, her sutures are healing well, and she's being very tolerant of her enforced rest. John's recovered well, sounds much better, and is working on renovating his brother-in-law's house. And my dad...well, it turned out to be a blocked bile duct that was successfully operated on yesterday. He's just been released from the hospital (with news from the latest imaging that his cancer has not spread), and told me he's really, really hungry. Best news I've had in weeks.

So...sorry to be so public with that, but I've found it really hard to focus. I hope things are better now.

Maud On Station: a gratuitous Corgi picture

Maud sure is taken with the snow. She's having a great time tearing around in it, and then took a moment to just look. I'd love to know what's running through her little walnut-sized brain.

House Full O' Corgis

By the way, in case I forgot to mention it in the Massachusetts posts?

We missed the dogs.

Nora and I went and picked them up this morning, and it was a wonderful reunion. "I can just let him go, he'll run to you, won't he?" the woman at the kennel said (Pen's been there more than a few times). Sure, I said, and braced myself. He ran right past me, to the car! Sat at the door, waiting to get in. Smart boy. Oh, it's good to have them back.

Things That Suck II

Things suck again.

I won't be going to the Iron Hill Media fest this weekend; too much crap to do.

Somebody -- won't say who -- sucked down way too much of a really nice bottle of whisky -- won't say which -- without even noticing how nice it was. Cretin.

Miller Chill.

Maud's away overnight, getting 'the dog operation' at the vet.

There are still no bars within walking distance of my house.

It's raining. Again.

There is no brewpub in Newtown. But there is an Applebee's. Jesus wept.

Pennsylvania is finally non-smoking in bars, but there are way too many loopholes.

The PLCB still runs all booze in Pennsylvania, despite my best efforts.

Pollen hates me and wants to make me sick.

My computer's back, but I'm going to spend all day re-loading shite on it (You were right, Amy, damn you!), a process that's taking so long I'm here pissing and moaning.

I need a new phone, and no phone on the market has everything I want...and I don't really want that much.

I fell off Weight Watchers, and can't summon the will to go back. My problem, I know.

One good thing: Maud comes home in half an hour. Which will probably make the other things recede a bit. I miss my little dog.

Gratuitous Corgis

Two Corgis. Good day.

At Home-Two-Dogs

I've got a new work adventure starting today...Cathy started her new job (in Pennsylvania, first time she's ever worked in PA, and it's a much shorter commute), and I've got the dogs full-time. Hoo, boy.

We started the day with a FRAP, of which I managed to get the picture at the left (it doesn't really do things justice, until you take a closer look and realize that Pen's moving so fast that he's leaning left into the turn). They tore around the dining room table, probably about 12 times before they took off into the living room and up the stairs, which led to me having to retrieve Maud; she's all confident on going up stairs, but she doesn't do down yet. Then they went outside, and I checked e-mail and blog comments. Then as I was finally about to get down to writing, they wanted back in.

Which is when we had this cute little Rodney King moment you see in the second picture, two dogs chewing pretty peacefully on the same bone. "Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out." It's just a bone, you know?

And now, ten minutes later, they've both collapsed into naps. Whew. Time to get to work!

Say hello to Maud

We took a drive with Nora today, the last act of The Maud Hunt. Ever since about three months after we got Penderyn, Cathy's been agitating for a second Corgi, a female, that she could name Maud. I'm not sure why, to tell the truth, but she is my wife, and I love her, so we hunted, on and off, for a female Corgi. We finally honed it down to wanting a tri-color, a Corgi with black, brown, and white hair (which means her shedding will now show up on everything we own, but hey, whatever). And after the holidays were over, and Cathy's job situation was secure, we started looking.

After looking at two great-looking litters right on the Lancaster-Chester county line (both raised in homes by families, no puppy mills), we made a very tough decision (which, um, included serious consideration of some great little non-tri-color pups...) and chose the little beauty you see here. We stopped by my folks to show them the new addition, then brought her home to meet Penderyn. He was a bit anxious at first, and curious, but they've settled down already after less than an hour.

Sigh. We must be nuts, but puppy time is here. Better get me a beer.