Summer series



Miracles -- part 2

At this very moment a cute furry friend is lying at my feet.  A SILENT furry friend.  In just over a week a miracle has occurred.  Toby no longer barks at every noise he hears.  He no longer barks at anything at all!  AND he sleeps SILENTLY all through the night in a crate beside my bed.  Call this an ad for Bark Busters!  As I knew, it's all about me.  I have to be top dog ALL THE TIME.  Toby has been relieved of security duty.  He's still learning to love the crate so I've been told to feed him in there.  The idea is to make the crate a place of all good things.  Apart from the door, of course -- but he's becoming okay with that too.  Once he's in there he doesn't fight it.  Notice I say "once he's in there" -- that is, once I've pulled him out from under the bed and placed him inside.  The hallelujah day will be when he walks in on his own and lies down.  We're getting there.



Miracles

Little Oliver Lawrence had his surgery yesterday.  It was expected to be 2-3 hours but took 5 because ALL his organs were in his chest cavity.  This is unusual in an already rare condition.  It's so amazing how Oliver has fought on.  The first HUGE hurdle was his birth.  Now he has passed the second -- making it through surgery to repair the hernia.  As I wrote before, his mother is writing a wonderful blog about her baby boy.  I've borrowed the photos from there: his huge incision and then Oliver lying on his back.

http://tawesson.wordpress.com



The dog that barked and barked and ...

I've had a rough few days.  Yes, he does bark.  Of course, only when we're home and surrounded by neighbours.  He barks when he hears anything from the hall.  I guess he's defending us.  I'm sure it's my fault.  I was already feeling guilty and madly trying to correct the problem when on Thursday an anonymous note -- an angry, aggressive, long, detailed and inaccurate anonymous note -- was posted by the elevators on my floor.  I freaked.  So upset that someone out there hates me and Toby so much.  I should say that there are 4 dogs on this floor and not all the barking is my Toby.  Anyhow, we're all chilling out for the weekend.  Toby is staying with Brian.  I am living in peace as are my neighbours -- whoever they are who complained -- and on Monday morning Bark Busters is coming for a three hour training session.  And yes, most of the training will be for me.

Summer painting

I've signed up for a summer intensive at TSA.  It's a beginning painting course taught by the woman who teaches Colour & Composition.  I'm sure that basics from her would be terrific.  Unfortunately it looks like the course may not proceed because of low enrollment.  Meanwhile I've done a few paintings.



Oliver

I have two great-nieces -- Poppy and Sidney -- and five great-nephews -- Benjamin, James, David, Harrison and Oliver.  The youngest, Oliver, was born just over one week ago.  Poppy is his big (two year old) sister.  He was born with serious health issues that were revealed in an ultrasound last winter.  In my simplistic explanation, it's a condition where the baby's diaphragm has a hole that allows the organs to move up into the chest cavity.  The most serious consequence is undeveloped lungs.  Oliver was safe inside his mother and then passed a first big hurdle when he was born.  When his condition is stable, in the next days, he will have surgery to fix the hole -- "hernia."  The condition is called CDH, "Congenital diaphragmatic hernia."  His mother is writing a wonderful blog about the whole thing.

http://tawesson.wordpress.com/