Elaine was bitten by a copperhead!

Oh, Elaine is our corgi, dog that is... 

Not the first time we've had a dog get bitten by something venomous, and we assume it was a copperhead since that's the only venomous snake in our neck of the woods.  We were mowing one of the pastures, and our dog usually follows us around looking for small mammals (especially rats or mice) that get run out of their hidey holes by the mower.

When we were through. about 2 p.m., we noticed she was walking unsteadily from under the front deck of the house.  Then we saw her swollen head, which she had trouble holding up, and her eyes were mostly shut. 

You can see a faint tinge of blood too, but that probably came from the two rabbits she had killed previous to the snake bite. 

We decided, from previous experience with another dog, to just monitor her progress, and make sure her airways were open.  Sine most animals get bit on the head, that is the most likely cause of distress...not being able to breathe due to swollen closed air passages.  By 6:00 that evening she looked better.  But her face is still obviously swollen.

 

Today she looks even better, and was running around barking, and contemplating chasing the horses.  She has edema under her chin, and may have draining later, but she's almost back to normal.

So what should someone expect if their dog gets bit?  It would depend on the size of the dog, and the type of bite received.  Copperheads are not know for "bad" bites, and the fact that animals do not react as frantically as humans do, I believe, aids in their recovery.  Of course you need to monitor the animal's behavior closely after the bite, but in this case all's well that ends well.
 

Giving 4 gallons, a pint at a time!

WOW...

I got my 4-gallon pin today for giving...4 (FOUR) gallons of blood over the past few years.  Now that's a lot of blood, since the average human body only carries around 1 and a half gallons (or about 5 -6 quarts.)

I started when a friend said he had given over 100 times already (he started VERY young) and I thought...I could do that! He's still giving, so I'll never catch up, I fear, but that's okay!  If you do the math, 2 pints equal a quart.  Four quarts equal a gallon, so that means I've given at least 32 times. 

I'm also a very desirable donor.  I'm O- (oh negative.)  I can give blood to anyone.  Plus, I'm known as a "baby quad" donor, which means my blood is the most desirable to give to a new born baby.  They can accept all blood, provided it's the right type, but mine does not carry the CMV (cytomegalovirus) virus.  From what I read, this is a common flu-like virus that's often found in the body, but rarely manifests itself; however, it's extremely undesirable to introduce, though a blood transfusion,  in babies, who have no immune system yet.  I could yet contact this virus, and then my blood would just be O-, but for now, I'm a doubly-wanted donor.

I can only give every 6 weeks, so if there is an emergency, and it's not the right time, I have to wait.  The blood center usually calls me though when it's time.  And somehow I have a 6th sense that also tells me when it's time. When I do go in, I "bleed out" quickly, so I can be in and out in about 15 minutes from the introductory testing (amount of iron in my blood, pulse, blood pressure.)  Plus the fact that the phlebotomists (the blood takers) do this so often they are very good at hitting that vein, and not hurting (too much.) 

Another added benefit is that I get a cholesterol check, every time I give.  It's not totally accurate since I don't fast for 24 hours ahead of time, but it does have meaning, and I take it seriously.

If you're squeamish, this may not be for you, BUT you don't have to look at the bags of blood.  I never see mine until the technician is gathering up all the equipment after it's over and even then, you can ignore it. 

Lest I forget, you also get a snack and a drink on your way out.   That's another incentive!!!  Cookies!!! 

Joined a gym today...

Well actually I joined a couple months ago, but it takes so much time, I have no time to write!  Now that just is NOT true!!!    But it sounds like a good excuse.  Anyway, back to the gym.

I have to admit I thought it would be all spandex, and svelte bodies.  Never thought it would look any thing like "Biggest Loser" where everyone obviously has some weight issues, except for the trainers.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Many, MANY people are just not in shape.  No, they're not morbidly obese, but there were quite a few big people there.  What depressed me was how well they carried themselves, and how much they worked out, and how hard!  I was winded after the first half hour (the first day that is) and they were going, and going, and going.

 I have since increased my stamina, and have been working out at least 5 days a week, for an hour.  Thought the pounds would just drop off, like the "Biggest Loser", but noooooooooo.  Oh my clothes do fit a bit differently, and everyone (?) knows  muscle weighs more than fat, but I want to see results in the way of numbers, on the scale!!!

So back to the big picture.  Of course there are a couple "beautiful people" that go.  The kind who have perfect bodies, perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect tans, and look amazing in spandex...but they're in the minority.    The rest of us are nondescript, doing our best, and that's the bottom line.  We're trying!

The most fun event is walking the upper course track around the basketball/volleyball and watching the little kids below play basketball, or volleyball.  The athletes of the future, keeping fit, and having fun!

 

Dodging a bullet twice in 10 minutes!

No, not me, but some very, VERY lucky driver who probably needs to review Rules of the Road again!

As I was going down a very flat, straight (some slight hills) 2-lane highway, a Chevy HHR passed me as I obviously wasn't going fast enough (60 mph in a 60 mph zone.)  There was a car in front of me, also going about the same speed.  There were also cars coming the other way.  The first car, in the on-coming lane, had to hit the shoulder as the HHR pulled back in to their proper lane.  Obviously they thought they were faster than oncoming traffic.  This time they made it.

Then, a few miles down the road I saw that same car pull off the road in a hurry!  I thought they had "almost" missed their turn off as there was a driveway up there.  Nope, they were in the ditch, and it was a healthy deep ditch.  I stopped to see if I could help, but they kept gunning the motor and muscled their way out onto the road.  At one time they did slide back on a bit of a severe angle, and I thought for sure they were going to tip over.  Those HHRs must have a very low center of gravity.

When they finally did get on the road, I thought I heard the familiar flup, flup, flup of a flat tire (or tires) as they drove a few yards, in the opposite direction they were originally headed, and turned into a driveway.  I can only assume they had a blowout?  And if this was the case, weren't they lucky to not have the blow-out when they were speeding down the highway, and quickly pulling in front of the car in front of me, when they were passing in close proximity to oncoming traffic!!!

The first pic shows the skid marks as I passed them.  I didn't take the pics right away, and so the black is not as "vivid" as when it was brand new.   The first pic is how the skid marks look going in the direction of the car's original route.

The bottom picture shows what it looked like on the way back from my trip.  You can see a mail box, on the left side, down a few hundred feet.  When I passed by, the HHR was at the house at the end of the driveway which belongs to the mailbox.  Guess their hurry to get out of town got them about 10 miles down the road, and totally disabled.  

Last week I almost had a run-in with a person obviously texting, on this same road, and swerving all over, speeding and slowing down.    I used to think that people had accidents on curvy, hilly roads, but it would seem, the straighter and flatter, people take more chances. 

Time for a glass of wine...at home...

Bah humbug!!!

After working retail during the Christmas season for several years now, I can appreciate how a person can get burned out, when on the "receiving side" of the register.  Normal rudeness increases exponentially at this time of the year.  Common sense just flies out the window. 

 Just how important is that gift anyway?  I can hear you saying...

 ..."I knocked an old lady down, but I got the gift!"

..."I totalled my car on the way to the Mall, but I got the gift!"

..."I maxed out my credit card, but I got the gift!"

..."I couldn't afford to donate to the Bell-ringers, because I got the gift!"

..."I didn't make the mortgage payment, but I got the gift!"

TV, radio, newsprint all screams that we should get that "special someone" the gift at all costs, but how important is the gift, if all those other variables appear.

There's an old lady that could have been hurt.  A car that should have lasted for a few more years.  A debt that didn't have to be incurred.  A charitable donation that may have bought a cup of coffee for someone who couldn't even afford that.  A house that didn't have to go in to foreclosure. 

These are all hypothetical scenarios, but they can and do happen.  Just because someone wanted to get the gift.  Couldn't/wouldn't the received be happy with just any gift?  As long as it was given with love, and care, and sincerity?  I could and would be.




 

Dead Santa

I was driving to a garage sale, in a middle-class neighborhood, when I saw my first dead santa on the ground, in front of an otherwise nicely decorated house.  Further down that same street I saw a dead snowman, and some dead elves. 

I was sure that this was the work of vandals.  That people without the Christmas spirit had indeed probably sliced open, or shot BB pellets at these poor, forlorn inflatable forms we see at Christmas.  What a way to deflate your Christmas spirit!  And this surely did not look like the kind of neighborhood that such things would take place.

Then, later that same day, I went to another garage sale, in an even  nicer neighborhood, miles away from the first "killing field."  The same thing...dead santas everywhere.  And this neighborhood even has a resident cop in their midst.  At least the squad car was parked in front of the same house, as was seen on a previous ride through.  How could we have so many vandals roaming the streets causing mischief?

Then a light bulb went off!

These inflatable santas, and snowmen, and elves, are all kept inflated due to a small air pump that they're attached to.  And to conserve electricity, the home owners are turning off the pumps during the day, hence the inflatables DEFLATE, and thus cause the seeming carnage of dead santas. 

It's still an eerie sight, but now I know the cause!

What next?

Sheesh...if this doesn't beat all! 

We park our cars under a nice, big oak tree next to the house.  Sorry, no garage, or car port, just the wide open spaces.  So during a (not so recent any more) rain storm, one of the branches broke off the tree, and fell on the jeep.  Or rather fell INTO the jeep.  Who could have predicted this happening?

Yep, a tree branch right through the top of the jeep.  What are the odds of this happening?  Why didn't it fall horizontally rather than vertically?    Of course our auto insurance deductible is as much as the cost of replacement, so the burden of fixing it was on our shoulders.  We opted to get a large tire patch (as is used for semi-trailer tires) and patch it that way.  Actually looks quite nice, and it's waterproof!

Oh, if you notice the "rubber" snakes on the dash, and visor...those are just for fun!