Back home

Well, I got back home around 6 pm last night and went out to dinner at Applebee's with Christina and her friend Pete. Christina and her boyfriend, Travis, cleaned the laundry room and kitchen while we were gone--practically spotless! What a nice welcome home!

I went to the grocery store after supper and got home around 10 pm. Finally got to bed around 11:30, watching a show on Reagan instead of "Monk" which was pre-empted by Reagan. Tim walked in the door at 11:45 and I was very glad to see him! It's nice to be home together after several days apart.

Dad continues to do well and take some helpful naps. It was so nice to spend time with Mom and Dad and my sister Cheri and her husband Pat. It was a slower pace which I enjoyed, especially the beautiful setting (which I mentioned in my previous blog).

Tomorrow, back to work. Not sure I'm ready yet. Oh, Raven is doing well, too--although I think he lost his appetite a bit. He has a tummy ache and hasn't been eating all that much, so I fixed him some rice. His wound seems to be getting better, too.

Cleaned out the car today. It's really beautiful outside. Dryer stopped working while we were gone, so I'm hanging some things on our upstairs outside porch. Things will dry pretty fast because it's warm and we have a nice breeze.

Hopefully I will remember what to do when I get back to work tomorrow--it's been over a week!

Till next time,

Suzi

Goin' home

Well, I've had fun here in Tennessee, especially seeing my dad come through his colon surgery with great success, but tomorrow I'll be winging my way back home to Minneapolis.

Dad is doing great--he's been walking a bit better today and eating normally. He had a good night's sleep, although he woke up early, he was able to go back to sleep for another hour or two.

My sister Cheri and I drove to the Amish farmer's market and the local fair trade store. Both were quite wonderful. We enjoyed corn on the cob which was probably picked this morning--it was delicious at dinner time.

The weather here has been great--in the 70s and low 80s with low humidity. The mountain view of the Smokies is spectacular! I've enjoyed walking around the beautiful neighborhood, reading, and competing with my sister as we blurt out answers to Wheel of Fortune (she always wins).

I got a phone call from our former exchange student, Carla, from Bolivia. Sounds like she'll be able to visit us for a month in Dec./Jan.! We hope to bring her down to Tennessee for Christmas. Mai, our exchange student from Japan, should be visiting in September.What fun it will be!!!

Well, I better get ready for bed so I can get up and head up to the Knoxville airport in the morning. Stops are in Charlotte, Milwaukee before the final destination of Mpls--flying two different US Airways planes and then from Milwaukee Midwest Airlines. It will be so great to finally be home and check on the kids, the dog, and the house.

Have a spectacular fourth! I'll probably be in bed as the fireworks shoot off!

Till next time,

Suzi

Life in Tennessee

Well, my dad had a colonoscopy last week and a large polyp was discovered. Turns out it was benign, but they wanted to remove it. Tim and I drove down to my folks here in Tennessee this past weekend. Dad had surgery on Monday but is still in the hospital, though he is doing well. When he eats more solid food he should be able to come home.

Tim left yesterday to drive to Cornerstone. He is going solo this year (and will have a blast). I'm flying home from Knoxville on Saturday. Tim will probably be back on Sunday. The kids are watching the house and dog.

This week is beautiful in Tennessee--highs in the 80s only and humidity not too bad. The Smoky Mountains are gorgeous and almost always in view. My sister lives down the block from my folks, so we've been driving to the hospital every day (about 45 minutes one way) with Mom, visiting with Dad, taking walks, doing some yard work, and surfing the net. My sister and I fight over Dad's laptop at the hospital (which has wi-fi: my folks and my sister have only dial-up).

It's nice to get away from work (though I love my job) and relax. I've also been doing a lot of reading, and Mom and I watch the news and Wheel of Fortune. We also putz in the kitchen and play with the dog.

We hope that Dad will come home tomorrow. I'll keep y'all posted!

Till next time,

Suzi

Wonderful (albeit dog-less) walks

I think I may have discovered garments that stay on Raven to protect his wound: aprons (the long kind with a panel above the "waist"). I thread the top string/ribbon through his e-collar loops (which his collar is also looped through) and then fasten a velcro strap and also tie with the "waist" ties around his middle. I also discovered it's harder for him to wriggle out of a t-shirt if I put his back legs through the hole for the head--it has a snugger, but not-too-tight fit, and then I take the torn bottom part of the shirt to tie to his collar.

Anyway, since Raven isn't walking too far these days, I've decided I must take journeys on my own. Yesterday was staff appreciation day, and due to budget cuts we had our appreciation day on campus, taking "classes." My first class was a nature hike, so we were led by a biology professor down Bethel's nature trail--very interesting and beautiful. Even though I was a student at Bethel for my four undergraduate years and have worked there almost three years, I have never traveled along this path! I think it was about a 3/4 mile walk, so I'll have to do it more often! A special treat for those of us who had time was a trip up to Bethel's new green roof. It was interesting to see how that was laid out and what kind of plant will grow up there to maintain some more "green" space.

This morning I walked dog-less around the neighborhood. A funny thing is that I passed the woman's house where three years or more ago she scolded me severely when Raven "did his thing" on her yard (even though I cleaned it up). Today, I'm sure she didn't recognize me from that experience. She was backing out of her driveway as I walked by and her trunk was partly open. She stopped and asked me if I would mind closing it. I did so, and she thanked me, saying "I was so sweet" to do so. I don't think "sweet" was the word she used at our last encounter, but I had to chuckle to myself. Lesson learned: when people react badly to you in a certain situation, you should keep in mind their circumstances or state of mind that day. It could be their perceived "crabbiness" is not really an indication of who they are as a person, or how they might interact with you in a different situation.

I'm hoping it won't be too long before Raven can join me again on longer walks. Time heals all wounds, they say, and I guess I'm learning that lesson.

Tell next time,


Suzi

Update

Well, I think I'm finished with my course now. I've made what I think were the suggested changes, so we'll see! Our deadline is Friday at 8 am, so next week some time I should know for sure.

Meanwhile, Raven's taken a bit of a set-back. His wound opened up a bit, so we have to lightly spray above the area with water for about ten minutes and then put some salve on it. He's been wearing boxer shorts (pretty funny with his e-collar), but he seems to get out of them, so now I'm trying tying a sheet around him to protect the wound (and our floors!). He won't get his sutures out for awhile--we'll go back to the vet next week to see how he's progressing.

At times like this, I wish I had sewing skills to make a garment that would stay on Raven! Cheri, I could use you up here now! ;) Ah well, we'll manage somehow. Tim is going to find some velcro straps at Menards to see if that will help.

Otherwise, we're pretty good. Cash flow is tight, but what else is new. Tim's trying to get a mortgage on his two properties, but the bank is all about delay, delay. Apparently with new federal laws bankers can't be in contact with appraisers. (They don't want any under the table deals that got us all in trouble in the last few years.) Ay caramba. So now people who've done business legitimately and try to continue to do so are penalized.

Well, we got a little bit of rain the last couple of days, so that's a good thing. Now we need to mow the grass again, but I'm not complaining. The trees, lawns and flowers really needed the water.

Till next time,

Suzi

Thought I was done with my course . . .

My professor just emailed our class and said that he has done a preliminary review of our course, and we have till 8 am Friday, June 12 to make changes.

So, I guess I'm not done with my online class after all. I'm hoping to make the bulk of the changes tonight. I was doing final updates on Monday evening when I "took a break" to walk Raven with the resulting dog attack.

So, back to work. No dog walking breaks. That is, only a walk just outside the back door and back in again.

At least it's a gloomy, cold rainy evening, so I'm not tempted to be strolling around outside. Perfect studying weather.

Ay caramba.

Till next time,


Suzi

Done with my course work!

Well, I have now completed my classes for my Post-Secondary Teaching Certificate--in the fall I will have an internship and "integrative seminar." I'm also teaching Introduction to Liberal Arts again in the fall, so hopefully I can handle all of it!

I was putting some finishing touches on the online class I was creating for the "Effective Teaching Online" class I just finished when I decided to take a break and walk the dog down the block. I wish I had just kept working instead! We passed by the house of a German shcpherd dog (I've walked by there dozens or more times with Raven), and the dog came running out--to say hello, I thought, but instead took a chunk out of Raven.

The owner was able to get her dog off and through her tears said, "Send me the bill . . ." We took Raven to the emergency vet and got him patched up.

This was Monday evening. The German shepherd dog owner put her dog down the next day :( and came over with a check to cover our expenses. She is really a lovely lady who lost her husband a while back and shares her home with her sister and another friend. They have three cats. She had rescued this dog from the humane society, where he was due to behavorial issues with animals, but she had worked with an animal behaviorist and not had any trouble till now.

Raven was in pretty touch shape the first couple of days, just laying around and not really interested in eating, drinking or going out. Gradually he's improving, and we went to the vet on Thursday. He had a bit of a temperature so we got more pain and antibiotic meds to take in addition to what he got at the emergency clinic. We also got some prescription canned food, which he loves! It's good to see him eating and drinking and going outside willingly. On Thursday I take him back to have his stitches removed. Hopefully the affected area will heal well, because they said if any of the tissue gets hard and decays, he'd have to have surgery again. :(

So, that's been my week! Hope to blog more now in the summer since the pace of things should slow down. I was approved to work permanently for 40 hours in the registrar's office this summer, so that is wonderful news--before I had 25 hours in one part-time permanent position and 15 in a temp position. Now things will dovetail perfectly.

Blessings to you for a happy, safe, healthy summer!

Till next time,

Suzi

I've made it to Youtube!

Check out this video!

You can first see me at just a little after the two-minute mark.

This is where I work! What fun!

Till next time,


Suzi