Just Weird

It was just plain weird to open up today's newspaper and actually know someone in the obituary column. Especially since I haven't lived in the area for too long. I've been procrastinating finding a new doctor - but not any more. Our newspaper is only printed twice a week and obits are never current so the funeral has already taken place.

The forecasted snow never really materialized. A few flakes that melted as soon as they hit the ground. Gertie's had some fun outside playing but was more interested in chasing squirrels than the snow.

No plans for tomorrow night - New Year's Eve. I'll probably watch the ball drop in Times Square and then head off to bed. My your plans be a little more exciting.

Happy New Year!

Pre-Snow Tuesday

The minute I hear that snow is in the forecast I want to run to the grocery store - just in case. I'm resisting that urge today and I'll probably be sorry for it. The forecast is for snow starting very early tomorrow morning and lasting all day. I think I'll warm up under my new Snuggy Blanket with some hot chocolate and Gertie curled up on my lap.

Gertie loves the snow. The last snow storm we had she came in every time with snow piled on her nose and a tail wagging so hard I was sure her rear end was going to fly off. The snow didn't last long - only a day or two and it was gone for the most part. That's the way I like snow if you have to have it at all!

My leg is continuing to mend. I hope it will be totally healed soon. This weekend I'll probably head over to Walmart to see how it holds up. It's my test run for the drive home East. My parents and I still have to exchange Christmas gifts!

Weekend Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Gertie and I both enjoyed a quiet Christmas this last week. EH had sent me some deep dish pizza from Chicago and that made a great lunch as Gertie got a treat in the form of a couple pieces of crust (very small pieces). It wasn't a white Christmas here - just very cold and windy. Today however, that all changed. We have a couple of inches of snow on the ground and it's still coming down. Gertie had a blast. She couldn't contain herself as she ran as fast as she could through the snow in all directions. After 15 minutes she came in, found a nice warm spot and flopped down for a nap.

In this picture, which I took this last week, Gertie has brought me her favorite toy, ready to play. And with that face and those floppy little ears, who could resist. Gertie had her own little Christmas miracle happen. I have a small bucket near the kitchen I use for cleaning up and mopping. For the last month or so Gertie has been interested in that bucket. Every time I'm in the kitchen she goes to the bucket and nudges the handle. Since I've been sick I just tell her to leave it alone. Christmas Day I'm heading into the kitchen and she ran right to the bucket so I decided to move it someplace where she cannot get to it. As I pick the bucket up, there in the bottom is one of her favorite stuffed toys - Mr. Turtle. She has been over the moon to have her toy back and I moved the bucket so that no more of her toys will make its way in. Now if I could only get her to put her toys into her toybox so readily......

Merry Christmas

Annalee - Snowflake Frolic Frog
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Just a quick note to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas. I hope Santa Frog brought all the young tadpoles everything they wanted!

Frog of the Day

Glass Ornament Frog Playing Sax
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

So far it's been good news today - only a light rain has fallen. Keep your fingers crossed that no ice falls. Further north they'll be dealing with snow like the East Coast had. My leg is quite sore today after my adventure to Walmart yesterday so I'm going to keep this short. Besides, Gertie wants to play - she's dropped every toy she has at my feet and has begun to whine a bit to get my attention.

This frog collectible is the 3rd glass ornament in the series. This little froggy is playing the saxaphone. Laid back and cool, he's ready to play some jazz. This set was made in China. I received it October 2009.

Awaiting a possible ice storm

Hopefully the latest reports are correct and we'll have more of a rain event. Starting Sunday the news here has been telling us to watch out for storms that are coming in the next few days. You may have seen some of it on the nightly news. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no ice!

I decided that just in case I finally had to bite the bullet and go to Walmart to do some shopping. I had been putting it off because I've been afraid to walk that much on my sore leg. I decided that everything I needed for now could be found within the first few aisles of the door. With plan in hand I headed out. By the time I got home my leg was indeed throbbing quite a bit. I took a pain killer and headed immediately to bed to rest my leg. Still a bit sore this evening but I hope I didn't set myself back too much.

I received one of those snuggy blankets from AB today. Gertie wasn't too sure but she had to check it out and ultimately decided that it was o.k. As long as she had her rawhide bone to chew she's happy.

Only a couple of days until Christmas - hope you have all your shopping done. Gertie and I will be here celebrating quietly - awaiting this leg to heal so we can head off to the East Coast. I suppose I need to go put my leg back up on a pillow. Keep your fingers crossed for me....

Weekend Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Gertie has had a pretty good week. She follows me around, making sure I'm o.k. She especially likes when I go lay down to put my leg up - she curls up next to me and takes a little nap. As I've been starting to feel a little better, she wants to play a bit more and go outside to run around.

I was telling her that we'll soon be going to the East Coast and how much snow they have there - I know she's looking at me thinking "How much snow? - You do know I'm not very tall, don't you?" I thought I'd have to buy her a little coat for going outside,but she loves the cold. I usually have to haul her back inside reluctantly.

Because of my tendonitis I'll be waiting a bit to be sure that everything is cleared up before heading East. After seeing the snow they've got I think I'm glad I'm stuck here in Illinois. It's been cold and we've gotten a little dusting that lasts about an hour or two. Certainly no feet of snow, thank goodness!

Frog of the Day

Glass Ornament Frog - Drummer
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Feeling a little better today - I can sit for almost 30 minutes at a time before I have to put my leg up. We're supposed to get a dusting of snow here overnight - nothing like the East Coast where there looking at feet of snow!

This frog collectible is a glass ornament that is one of three. The first has already been profiled here. This frog is playing a drum. The only tag is a Made in China, otherwise I have no information about these ornaments. I received this in October 2009.

Musings

The UPS man comes here practically every day. Anything you want you have to order. Yesterday he came with the pizzas from EH. Today he came with a Christmas gift from AB - a great 8 quart electric stock pot.

I packaged up 2 loaves of fruitcake for myself today. Yummy! I sliced off a nice big piece and it makes the last 8 weeks of making it all worth it. Just a few loaves left available.....

After two days of feeling a bit better, today was a bit of a set back. My leg was really sore. I spent a lot of the day with the heating pad on which helped. I'm OK as long as I keep my foot elevated. I'm ready for this to be over!

A Rough Couple of Days

It has been a rough couple of days but hopefully my leg is beginning to heal a bit. At least I didn't scream this morning getting out of bed. That's a start any way. Hopefully in a couple of weeks things will be back to normal.

I went out yesterday and delivered the last of the fruitcake that I wanted to give for Christmas presents. I was able to spend almost a half hour in the car before I had to come home because my leg was killing me. That too was better than when I went to the post office - I was in pain after only 5 minutes. I be glad when I can just hop in the car and go. Especially because I need to do some grocery shopping in the worst way.

I received Christmas dinner from EH today. He sent me by overnight delivery a couple deep dish pizzas from Chicago. I don't know if I can wait 10 days to make them and dig in. Since there are two pizzas I may have to make one in the next couple of days and keep the other for Christmas day.

I'm down to 5 loaves of fruitcake for sale. If you would like one, you better act quick!

Weekend Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

I can sit in front of the computer for about 2 or 3 minutes then I have to get up and go put my leg up. So it's taken me about an hour to get to this point! At least I'm not screaming with the pain any more - I've gotten used to it I guess.

I called the groomers about getting Gertie in to have a bath - she's itching a lot and really needs her nails cut. I hung up and this was the look she was giving me - like how could you! LOL She'll be happy once it's all over.

OK, running out of time so I'm going to go ahead and post this. Thanks to everyone who has sent an e-mail empathising with my situation. I'll be glad when this is all over and things are back to normal....... well, as normal as can be....... LOL.

Hell of a week!

It really has been a hell of a week. My leg is still really painful and the focus of all my attention at the moment. I'm hopeful that things will be better in a couple of weeks. Gertie has taken my limited mobility all in stride. She's happy to crawl into my arms and hang out, keeping me me company.

I made arrangements to have all the stuffed animals that you sent me over the last year - 83 in total - and have them picked up by a local charity to be distributed to children for Christmas. Thanks everyone! We'll have to do this again for next year.

Thanks to everyone who wrote me this last week - a couple of you have been through what I'm going through now and your words of encouragement sure helped.

I also wanted to tell you about someone who bought a loaf of the fruitcake. He received it on a Tuesday morning and wrote me to tell me that it was delicious. Two hours later he wrote and asked me if I had more fruitcake as he finished the loaf he had just received! Now that an endorsement. Only a couple loaves left - order quickly!

Pain

I'm beginning to think I could write a book on the subject of pain. I thought my back pain was pretty bad - then this. I feel for anyone who has gone through achilles tendonitis - it takes the idea of pain to a whole new level. Pain killers are working only modestly - I sound like I'm practicing as a screamer for a rock band or something. Mornings are indeed the worst - but the pain never really abates throughout the day - it is always there. I'll be glad when this one is over.

Yesterday we had some snow here at Frog Central. It didn't last very long. More snow and rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days. It seems that we're getting mostly rain. Of course the temps will drop into the teens overnight and freeze all the rain that fell - there will ice rinks all over the place.

Gertie has been real good with my down time - she likes to curl up in my lap and take naps. Every now and then she just has to play but again, she's real good in bringing my her toy and making sure she hands it to me so I can throw it for her. A couple times is all she needs and then she's happy. Gertie's been a great comfort.

How NOT to spend your Sundays

I woke up this morning with my leg still really bothering me so I decided that it couldn't wait another day - off to the emergency room. Five hours and bunch of tests later and I'm told I have an acute achilles tendonitis. I don't know if you've ever had this but it is extremely painful! Although the doctor told me that the pain level basically doubles if it tears - I can't imagine and I don't want to know. So for now I'm on as much bedrest as I can possibly stand and that's where I'm headed now.....

A Very Busy Friday

I was up at 5:30 a.m. this morning to begin the process of packaging up fruitcake and getting it sent out. About 3 p.m. this afternoon I had everything loaded up in the car and was off to the post office. When I got home there was a lot of clean-up. A quick dinner and here I am. And I really need to do it again tomorrow so that I can make a number of in-town deliveries. I'm really pleased with how this year's batch came out. Every year the process gets a little easier and this year I worked a lot on the packaging. So I'm really tired and sore, but it's a satisfying tied and sore of a job well done.

Just a quick note also to let you know that I really am down to about the last 10 loaves available - so if you're interested I woudn't wait too long!

Frog of the Day

Glass Frog Ornament Guitar Player
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Finally feeling much better. It turned bitter cold here in town and I think that goes along with the mood of the town this week. Tidy Town made the news throughout the St. Louis media markets Monday and Tuesday. An 85 year old woman was walking her little poodle in her back yard when they were attacked by a pit bull - killing them both. A very sad situation indeed. The owner of the pit bull didn't know what was happening - he kept the dog tied up in the back yard to a log with a heavy chain. Dogs are pack animals and doing that drives them crazy - and then the worst happens.

This frog item is an ornament made out of glass. It is one of a set of three. The frog is playing a guitar. The box is a plain brown with a Made in China stamp on it. I received this October 2009.

Tuesday Morning

The last couple of days have been interesting. First the shivering and then a very high temperature. This morning I'm feeling a little bit better and was able to even put down a piece of toast and some tea. I'm sure that each day I'll feel a bit better now. Having had both the flu shot and the H1N1 shot, the doctor said that it should be a much shorter time of feeling bad. That may be so, but those several days I sure felt pretty bad.

Gertie knew I wasn't feeling well and for two days has curled up in my lap and every now and then had to put her head on my shoulder - so cute. Last night I let her out to run around for a bit - she is a puppy after all and needs to get some of that puppy energy out of her system. She ran back and forth chasing squirrels and a stray cat. I think she was just happy to be running around. When she tired she came back in and curled up on my lap again - blissfully contest. If only life was that easy.....