Just In Time for Christmas!

It's been a long month or so since my computer screen went on the fritz.  A month of trying to look for a job and run a dog rescue via an iPhone and Kindle Fire was daunting, to say the least.  Somehow I managed to slog through it, complete an adoption and rescue a couple more dogs.  We're currently at a total of 41 pointers rescued since November 2011.  The next several days will be spent on catching up on rescue work, paperwork, and other tedious administrative tasks.  However, I will also be able to catch up on my favourite blogs, TV shows I haven't been able to watch on Hulu, and many other things that when lacking I became increasingly grateful for.

Our Christmas tree!

Although it is not yet Chirstmas, I've already received a number of gifts.  London Fog luggage, a Cath Kidston purse, and a vintage inspired floral quilt from my mother; a really keen bicycle headlamp and tail-light from my brother, homemade baklava & chocolate truffles from my friend S.'s mom (who has become like another mother to me, since I have no family in Tucson), and a 2013 German shorthaired pointer calendar (and some GSP related decals!) from my friend S. in Colorado.

Over the course of my limited internet ability, I've handwritten and outlined posts, as well as taken plenty of photos to share what I've been up to during my second and most recent hiatus (lots of food and dogs, of course!).

Here are a few snapshots of what I have been doing to keep busy: decorating for the holidays and rescuing two more dogs!

Yes, we have icicles in the desert!  (Or at least in my kitchen!)

Watson (#40), an 11 month old English pointer mix. 

Cooper (#41), a 1 year old purebred German shorthaired pointer.

Sudden Hiatus, Explained

The past week has been a tumultuous one.  On Monday, I was laid off from my job with little to no hope of returning.  About a quarter of the company was laid off due to the extremely weak global market in our industry combined with pervasive mismanagement across the board.  Still, I valued and relied upon my job to support myself and provide a home for myself & my dogs (all three of us have chronic medical conditions).  It came as a shock that I was eliminated simply because I lacked seniority; I had expanded my job (which was extremely easy and only took a few hours of the day) to tracking all of our parts & raw materials orders for purchasing (which in addition to working with vendors involved working closely with the project manager & project engineers).  Basically they got two positions filled for the price of one.  If they truly intend to salvage and save the company with financial cost being the bottom line (and the reason so many were laid off), they would have been wise to keep such a hard-working and valuable employee.  Ah well... like I said, the company is badly run from stem to stern.

Okay, enough about that.

Wednesday was a deeply saddening day.  I wrote about Rusty, the older German shorthaired pointer that I would be fostering to determine the severity of his health and/or behaviour issues.  Thankfully once his very long nails were clipped he got around much better with only moderate osteo-arthritic stiffness.  However, upon examining his teeth I found that he was much older than the 9 years we were told when we rescued him last May.  I estimated his age to be anywhere from 12 to 16.  His back teeth were worn almost to the gumline and the front were ground down considerably so that he had a difficult time chewing dry food.  His most notable symptom was that he was easily disoriented and when confused would stand there and cry pitifully unless someone was there to talk to him & calm him down.  Even after spending several days with him (during which I was home most of the time), I don't believe he even recognized me; I was merely a reassuring presence when he became frightened and confused.  Because of the severity of his dementia we made the decision to have him humanely euthanized.  While that is always a heartbreaking decision to have to make, his quality of life was so poor that giving him a release from that constant suffering was the most compassionate gift I could give him.  RIP sweet Rusty.

The rest of my week was consumed with Thanksgiving and the weekend was mostly spent cleaning, reorganizing and decorating my home for Christmas (my favourite holiday).

Last night I went for a run with R. for the first time in a week.  I really surprised myself by running 10 minutes with only a 3 minute rest, then running a quick 7 minutes followed by a nice long cool down walk!  While I've given up the C25K program, I plan to still run twice a week (with R. or Gatsby or both) and then do yoga, Zumba, and bike around town the rest of the time.

Foster Dog #21 - Meet Rusty!

Rusty

I shall endeavor to type this post quickly, as I need to leave work in about 8 minutes to catch an earlier bus than usual home.

Around 7pm tonight I'll be getting another foster dog (yes, number 21!) named Rusty.  He's a 9 year old purebred German shorthaired pointer (of course) and is suffering from advanced Lyme disease.  He seems to be in pain and is having mobility issues.  His treatment will require vigorous treatment and even once he is feeling better, he may never be a very adoptable dog.  Even if that is the case, he will remain with my rescue (Arizona Bird Dog Rescue) and we will care for him for the remainder of his life.

Rusty stayed with us for a few days, post-rescue and I got some nice photos of him (and a cute one of him and Lola Lulu smiling).

Lola Lulu & Rusty

A Bit O' This and That

It seems like all I write about lately is running (for better or worse).  This week hasn't been much of a week for cooking, being the final stretch before payday tomorrow.  My laptop's screen is fried, so I haven't been able to blog (or upload photos) at home.  I have gotten a lot of reading done, however.  Enough that I can almost justify buying myself another book tomorrow.  (I promised myself that I would read the books I have before I bought any more...)  Hopefully my laptop screen will be replaced this weekend (it's still under warranty) and I can resume blogging more or less "as normal."  It will be nice to include more posts about food, the dogs, and some of my great vintage finds over the past few months (especially Pyrex and glassware!).  If you'd like to see some cute pictures of my dogs, Lola Lulu started writing her own blog again.  You can read it here: Adventures with Lola Lulu

Either Friday night or Saturday morning I will be taking in a 9 year old overweight German shorthaired pointer named Rusty (who was rescued several months ago, with my beloved Lemons and another GSP, Bones).  He has advanced Lyme disease and will be mostly convalescent and on several medications (two antibiotics, anti-inflammatory pain pills, and glucosamine/chondroitin) for quite some time.  I don't know how long I will have him in my care;  hopefully he will be easy to have around my house for time being and can go to another foster home later.  He stayed with me for several days, post-rescue, and was a really sweet boy.  Currently he is having a lot of trouble standing and walking so we'll have to see if we can get him feeling better on the medical regimen that we're developing for him.  I hope that we can help him feel better even if he isn't a very adoptable dog and he might end up in the care of my rescue until it's his time to pass on.

To take a sharp left from that sad note, I may be taking a trip overseas after the holidays.  I am not going to say very much about it at this time, but I have never been abroad and it would be an amazing trip in many ways.  The only foreign country I've ever been to is Canada and when you grew up in Michigan, Ontario is pretty much exactly the same!  I am excited/anxious/nervous/delighted with the prospect all at once.  My mother is buying me a very nice set of houndstooth luggage for my upcoming 30th birthday (which is January 4th).

My "personalized" set of luggage will be the smaller bag here and a larger 29" suitcase, as well.

It is looking more and more like Thanksgiving may be just my dear friend S. and I (with R. stopping by after she spends most of the day with her parents) cooking, baking, and watching movies in our pajamas.  We still haven't worked out a complete menu yet, but I think this recipe (by Joanne of Eats Well With Others) is going to have to be a part of it.  I love (and by love, I mean LOVE) kale and S. makes the BEST roasted brussels sprouts.  The lemony vinaigrette will be a nice bright touch to the squash and greens.  Doesn't it look divine?!  Recipe here: Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad with Butternut Squash

Photo by Joanne Bruno of Eats Well With Others

Running: Post-Plateau

Whew!  Not only did I survive last night's run but it really felt good.  Stretching before and after made a huge difference and I think instead of sticking to the C25K program to the letter, R. and I have decided it's more important to just keeping running, keep running longer, and keep improving our stamina.  If it takes us a little while longer, so be it.  Our goal was to become more healthy and fit, first and foremost, with the 5K giving us a tangible goal to keep us motivated.

Today is the first day in over a week that I don't feel sore or disillusioned about running in general.  I feel like I've overcome a hurdle and will be in good form for Thursday evening's run with R.!

In other news, don't weigh yourself after you just ate a big sandwich for lunch (even if it was only rye bread, mustard, pickles & veggies).  It's disheartening, to say the least.

On the Brighter Side

Something I try to refrain from doing is going back and reading past posts (especially recent ones).  I tend to get a little extreme with over-editing and seeking unattainable perfection with my writing.  So instead, I've made a habit of writing as my thoughts and the words flow, doing a quick proofread and then flinging the words out into the world.

However... upon second glance, my last post (as much as I tried to still maintain a degree of hopefulness) sounds somewhat depressive.

To counterbalance that tone, I'd like to share some recent wholly positive recent developments.

Today for breakfast (and lunch!) I had two pieces of Magpie's "Mikey's" Lite-R pizza on a whole wheat crust with olive oil & garlic for sauce.  Each slice is only 172 calories and 4 grams of fat.  SERIOUSLY!

Yesterday I got another space heater (dogs count as space heaters when they are over 50 lbs., right?), which helps me gather a bit more courage to get out of bed in the morning.  Tile and wood laminate floors are COLD.  I really need to buy some slippers.  Preferably dust/dirt coloured ones that won't show the ever-present dust/dirt that results from: (a) living in a desert & (b) having very active dogs.

British Invasion Duchess of Pearl Princess Grey Black Tea by local Tucson tea purveyor Ausperitea has changed my life and has ruined most other tea blends for me, forevermore.  A traditional Earl Grey with the addition of lavender and rose buds/petals.  Faintly citrus and delightfully floral on a classic base of black tea.  Absolutely sublime.

Thanksgiving is a little over a week away and I still haven't sorted out what I'm going to be making/baking/what-have-you.  I can't let S. have all the fun!  One thing is for certain... I am going to be baking a "naked apple pie."  (As seen on the Snack Girl blog.)  Or maybe it will be a naked pear pie.  Either way, I'm baking a pie and it will be naked.  ...and yes, I am going to snicker about the pie's lack of attire.  Since I don't have any biological family in Tucson, the holiday will be spent with my friends-who-are-my-family.  Hooray!

I am almost done reading Michael Pollan's well-known literary pillar of food ethics, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and can dig back into "Empires of Light" by Jill Jonnes (which is about Tesla, Westinghouse, and that jerk Edison).

Not-So-Cool Running

To be frank: the past week (Week Five) of C25K was the absolute worst.  I don't know if I've hit a sort of "running plateau" or if I'm progressing faster than my body can manage.  Every day the times increased, which was without question a challenge.  The first two days I completed the regimens (barely) and while I felt mentally happy to "finish" them, I felt physically awful and so sore that I've given up biking, walking the dogs, etc. because on running days I am too exhausted to do either and on rest days I am too sore to want to exert myself, knowing that I'll have a brutal run the following day and I want to be as ready/rested as possible.

I know part of my inability to finish the 20 minute run last weekend was because I didn't have enough fore-warning to use my inhaler in time, I felt rushed and didn't take the time to stretch beforehand, and it was MUCH colder than I'd anticipated.  I ran the first ten agonizing minutes, then stopped to stretch for 3 minutes, walk for 1 minute, then run for another 6 before I started feeling dizzy and asthmatic.

Truthfully, I do hope that last week was just an exceptionally hard week (I was getting over a cold, at the time) and that this week I finally feel "good" running again.  If not... I'm not sure that I want to risk injury but stubbornly pushing myself to finish the program (or at least finish it on time... stretching it out and using it as a guideline doesn't sound too awful).  I know that if I choose to run less often and increase my times more slowly that R. will be deeply disappointed.  I love running with her and I am so proud that we've come this far together, but at some point I have to balance the physical toll on my body with letting down one of my dearest friends.

I really, really hope that this week is a better one.

Today is only 8 min./5 min./8 min. with 3 min. rests in between.  After Sunday's disappointing run, this sounds a lot more pleasant... I hope I'm right!

The Looming Gloom

5pm, outside my office.  :(

Tonight is Week Five/Day Two of C25K, which I am actually pretty excited about!  Aside from the weather and the fact that I packed a tank top to run in (and will probably freeze the first mile or so) tonight.  Ugh.

There is supposed to be a silver lining, right?  I'm looking...

In other news, my laptop screen is fried which means no viable internet at home aside from my not-that-smart-phone.  It should still be under warranty; I hope I can find the paperwork tonight (I got it right before I moved... which makes the chance of successfully locating it somewhat grim).

Before you think this really is a gloomy post, I have some good news to share!

My dog Lola Lulu starting writing her blog again!  I know, I know... ...I didn't even know she could spell!  But there you have it.  You can check it out here.

Well.... off I go, to run in the rain and hopefully not get shin splints or slip and fall on my ass in front of rush hour traffic.

Ciao!