"October's Bright Blue Weather"

My brother and I learned a poem when we were very young and the first verse always stuck with both of us. Often, when taking "train trips" in the fall, we would look at each other then burst out with the words: "Oh, suns and skies and clouds of June, and flowers of June together; You cannot rival for one hour, October's bright blue weather!"

I'm pretty sure the title of the poem is "October's Bright Blue Weather" but please don't quote me. The rest of the poem is lovely as well but there's just something about that opening line that captures the essence.

Today, at long last, there is sun and blue skies. Admittedly, it is the last day of October and thus almost doesn't count but...it'll do. Most of October here has been gray and rainy with only a day or two that was sunny and nice. No, the sun does not make the badness go away but at least it helps one to feel a little more capable of facing the day. I miss "train trips" with my brother...

Not a good day...

I write this morning out of sadness. But, as is typical of me, I'll start on a tangential rabbit trail. I hate rain!! The older I get, the more this feeling grows. It's really weird because when I was a kid, I kind of enjoyed rain and would even go out to play in it. Now, however, I simply despise it and only want to hibernate with a good book and my four legged children.

That being said, today is unusual because we are having Fall Conference where veterinarians come and present topics as an opportunity for continuing education. The school is virtually shut down, only seeing emergencies. This worked out well for my plans since I would be able to go to surgery journal club then attend the presentations that I am most interested in as well as allowing me time to go home during the day (a rare novelty) to finish up on some things about which I've been procrastinating. (Me? Never!!) When I woke this morning, though, it was raining and horrid outside. I also had one of my lovely premonitions (if you will) where I just feel as if something bad is going to happen. I didn't go to journal club or any of the presentations yet, but have been hibernating.

Now to the real subject of this post. One of my really good friends from sixth grade e-mailed me a few minutes ago. Her mom has been sick, in the hospital with severe pneumonia recently but had gone home and was doing better. She was taken back to the hospital because she wasn't oxygenating well. They decided that she had thrown blood clots to the lungs and needed to be placed back on the ventilator. They sedated her for intubation and she apparently threw a fatal clot and died.

I hate the fact that I am hundreds of miles away and can't even be there for her. I can hardly believe that her mom, who was also a dear friend to me, is gone. And, as always in times like this, I know that there are not words available to express the sympathy that I feel for my friend. It also brings to a head the other scary fears of life such as the fact that I'm also a long way from my mother who is older than her mother was. And there are my four legged children who are getting older both here with me and at home with my mom. And there are the memories of those that have been lost before both years ago and recently...probably one of the reasons for my hatred of rain. And there are all my friends who are scattered around geographically (primarily because of my tendency to move so much of late) that seem so far away. Makes me think of a quote from one of my favorite authors that I'll probably butcher but something about the more people you care about the more captives of fate there are in your life.

Flat Broke

I should be used to the feeling of having no money. After all, I've been in school for more years than I care to think about and am now in the middle of my second (!) internship. At the moment, however, I'm very frustrated by being completely broke. The reasons are numerous extending from the very good (my dog needs a dental badly) to the selfish (there's a book I'm dying to buy). Unfortunately, there's no way that I can currently afford either, much less some of the less important things, unless I completely maxed out a credit card. The credit card cannot be maxed out unless it is a dire emergency (i.e. one of the four-legged kids needs something that can't possibly wait).

This being said, my meals have become increasingly creative as I try to wait out the days until the end of the month when I get a paycheck. You would be amazed at the things that you can dig up out of the cupboard and make a meal out of; things you would never have guessed can go together. Today, through a combination of a) not having money and b) not wanting to go to the grocery store, I decided that if I cook some homemade biscuits (very cheap) and creamed potatoes, I can live on that for the week without having to buy anything.

The picture that I included is totally plagiarized from an e-mail that I received recently and I would give credit for it but don't know who to credit. I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea if only my pets were that well-trained... So here's to cheap noodles and potatoes until the paycheck arrives on Friday. Now as long as no one gets sick, we'll be okay.

Happy Daze

Feeling a bit whimsical and nostalgic this morning; thinking back to vet school days that were actually tons of fun although a lot of hard work. Therefore, am posting a couple of pictures from freshman year of my little old lady, Choo Choo (9/11/91-12/19/08), with Dirk, Can't Spell's English Setter. When Dirk first joined Can't Spell, Choo hated him with a passion - he was, after all, a non-mannered, dirty, stinky little 7 week old puppy and everything he touched was contaminated! He stayed at my place for a while since Can't Spell's good ol' roomate didn't like the new addition. For weeks, Choo would walk around the places he had been, lifting her feet as if she were stepping in manure and circling widely around him or recent areas he had been. Then, suddenly, she decided she liked him and they were best buds for a while. It was only after he got to be about 20 pounds heavier than her that she decided she would no longer play with him... I guess all good things must come to an end. These are some of my "mostest favorite pictures ever!"