This and That

Hi again! I know ... it has been a week since I posted. But things have been happening. This week has been an improvement over previous weeks.

First and foremost, my grand dog babies .... Meathead, my English Bull Dog grandson, is doing much better. He finally adjusted to the Phenobarbital. This has been a great relief to me. I have been very concerned about how this drug had affected his coordination, balance, and, most importantly, his personality. All issues seem to have resolved over the course of this week. We have also reduced his extremely high level of Potassium Bromide. Now we wait to see how all this plays out with the frequency of his seizures. So far no seizures. Welcome back to the world, my dear Meaty.

Milo completed his second week of training. He is such a smart little dog, and he has picked up the initial commands quickly. The "leave it" command has worked pretty well to control his obsession of chewing sticks outside and his jealousy reaction with Meathead. It is early still, but Meaty's improved mental state and Milo's training seems to be making life a bit calmer here.

Milo will share more about his training experiences in the blog he shares with Meaty and Grimace. It can be found at http://granddogdiaries.blospot.com.

Secondly, I have managed some balance with other stuff important to me.

I seem to be getting back to my walking routine (again!). I missed many weeks, but this week I have been taking a 30 minute walk. Thirty minutes is quite a bit less than I was doing in September, but it is more than I was doing in November. Since I lost walking endurance, I need to build back up again. Thirty minutes is enough for now.

Although it is still Fall, this picture of trees near my house definitely says Winter.

Sadly, I am down to exactly one group Tai Chi session and one knitting group session a week. But as my energies get pulled into other areas, some things have to shrink so that there is room. Shrink, yes. Disappear, no.

I was able to get out for lunch with a friend this week (thank you Happy One, it was a great lunch - we need to do that again sometime.) Having lunch with a friend is good for the soul. Friendships need cultivating.

I did set some of my knitting and weaving projects aside this month so that I can complete Milo's sweater. That project is nearing completion.

I've been absent from blogging. Not a long absence, but not where I want to be. I really want to blog 3 or 4 times a week. Daily was fun when I first stated, but in my unpredictable life, 3 to 4 times a week is do-able. Of course, this week was once. Today.

I am still reading, but I am not reporting on every book I read - only the one I think are worth recommending.

I can't seem to keep up with the house work - but I am learning to live with that. (Ok, it still does bother me, but I am working on it.) I am, however, focusing on decluttering. Every time a charity calls looking for a donation of household items - I say "yes" even if I don't have anything to donate. It gives me the incentive to sort through stuff and give it away. Slowly, very slowly, spaces in the house should start to open up. Less really is more. A trite saying but no less true.

Finding balance is probably the biggest lesson I am learning this year. Balance ... a hard lesson for a Type A personality like me to learn. Lots of false starts in the last few months, and I am sure I will have more. And learning to say "no" to things that eat up time that I don't have is something I am practicing.

So although I am "blog quiet" at times, I am not off track - just sorting, sorting, sorting all the elements of my life .... and sorting some more.

I am very thankful that I am learning to put perspective on my life.