Open Writing

Monday started out routinely enough. Avie left Sox with the groomer at Lebanon Vet Clinic. Later I had a doctor's appointment, and came home with a couple of prescriptions.

Later we rode in together to get my scrips filled, run a couple of other errands, and pick up Sox.

Except Avie tripped or fell somehow while following one of the young ladies who had offered to help her, since the vestibule is designed to make it hard for a reluctant patient to make a run for it.

Somehow Avie, using her four-footed cane instead of her customary walker, took a fall and landed on her head. Funny, except she was bleeding and in need of quick medical care.

It was late evening before we got back home, and Avie, Sox, and I were about worn out.

Tuesday, my legs had swollen badly. I called the doctor who agreed I needed to make a quick trip to the ER. Only problem, neither Avie nor I was able to drive.

After some deliberation, Avie called our daughter-in-law Ann, in Indianapolis. The weather people were predicting really bad driving conditions, but Ann never hesitated and was at or door in a short time, to haul me in to the ER. I wound up spending the rest of the day there. Ann had to get back to work, so son Jim picked me up for the ride home.

Ron and Janet, our other local kids, drove up from Zionsville to offer help and support. They hadn't heard our news until I was back home. I hadn't slept much for several nights, so I went to bed and they left early.

Thanks to the good efforts and knowledge of the ER people, and the helpfulness of our kids, we are both on our way to mending.

Sox and her new clothes

Small dog Sox got her spring grooming too soon. She had grown pretty shaggy, and she looks quite sleek with her new hairdo. But the first time she went out to the mailbox with me she was shivering before she got off the porch. With the weather so bitter and our driving muscles at low ebb, I looked around for something to help her cope. I found a small harness that could fit her, and an ancient hand towel doing cleaning rag duty. In a few minutes a make-do coat was invented. The harness is purple, the towel dark blue, and Sox is coal black. A fetching combination. So it hangs down here and there. It keeps the wind off.

She doesn't much care for it. It does help. But I won't embarrass her with any photos.

Bicycling

Our son Ron is a long-time long-distance cyclist. Recently he learned that the Central Indiana Bicycling Association (CIBA) has named him Commuter Mileage Leader for 2007. He racked up 4639 miles last year, riding to and from work.

Modestly, he points out that riders keep their own mileage logs, and maybe forgot to list all their mileage. And of course not all riders kept records. But there it is. Congratulations, Ron.

Friday morning

Old Sox and I made it out to get the papers. Not as slick walking as I expected. I got the trash out in time for the trash man. Took my morning batch of pills. Short term, I have so many I have to use a tablet to keep track.

Coon Café

I do notice that the Coon Café, which seems to be a sort of treaty ground for all sorts of small folk, has had a wide variety of customers, none of them coons or possums.
Cardinals, bluejays, black capped chickadees. Snowbirds, house sparrows, maybe a winter wren. And our growing flock of displaced starlings, refugees from the Indianapolis eradication plan.

Scout, my crow friend, hollered a greeting as he flew high and fast towards Lebanon. I interrupted my trash hauling to make a quick response. Sort of a horn-honk and wave exchange of greetings.

We went to the grocery yesterday, and noticed how many other shoppers were near our age, and many of them at least as decrepit as we felt, Avie doesn't usually wear much makeup, but she did a masterful job of covering up the Technicolor after effects of her fall.

Life goes on.