"Be careful what you wish for" may be my motto this week. I'm back at work and everything is busy-busy! I gave two Newbery talks to fifth grade classes yesterday, which was fun because they actually listened to my recommendations and even borrowed several of the books. I didn't get the teenage "dead stare" (or dreaded eye roll) that I received from some of the eighth graders.
And I was checking things out and processing two weeks' worth of magazines and cleaning out our incoming e-mail basket and re-shelving and it all felt great.
Just like Clint in "Smoky the Cowhorse," I am back in the saddle.
I tried to walk Olga before work but she wasn't into it. She was enthusiastic until I opened the door, and suddenly the reality hit her and she balked. I let her resume her queenly position of repose on the couch. Dave reported that she was also quite obstinate in the afternoon when he took her to the high street while dropping off our sheets at the laundry. We gave her a paracetamol with dinner, thinking she might be achy, and that seemed to improve her mood.
I changed the sheets on Sunday because after you've been sick -- even mildly, as we were -- you just want to refresh your bedding, don't you? I find that really makes me feel like I've moved past whatever illness I had.
Unfortunately we're at that muddy time of year, and our grass-sparse back garden tends to come indoors on Olga's feet. Literally hours after putting the fresh sheets on the bed I found this:
Those, in case you can't tell, are pawprints.
It looks like I'll be changing the sheets again.
Dave also took a bag of old leashes and collars to the vet's office. The employees there said they'd either use them or donate them to a local animal charity. They were things we bought for Olga that didn't work out for some reason, plus a few that people gave us for her to use.
Dave and I have been watching "Hoarders" in the evenings. As you may remember, it's one of my guilty TV pleasures, and it has motivated me to be especially diligent about moving along things that we are no longer using. Those leashes have been hanging in the closet untouched for years. Buh-bye!
Hoarders is a powerful kick in the butt for many viewers. So glad you’re better; sorry you have to work! Oh, those paw prints. I once happily put new linens on the bed (the cats love that). A few minutes later, one of the cats had wiped his butt on the clean sheets. (I guess I’m on a butt theme.)
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, life with animals!
DeleteClint is the name of my silver Hyundai car. "Smoky the Cowhorse" is not the only film he has appeared in. He was also in "The Bridges of Madison County" and "Herbie Goes Bananas". Get Olga some wellies! (American:gumboots).
ReplyDeleteGumboots? I don't think that's American! We always just called them rubber boots. (Though they're probably not technically made of rubber.)
DeleteYou are right! I have been gumbooted like a clown.
DeleteGumboots sometimes refers to a private detective.
DeleteMs. Moon:
DeleteAren’t those gumshoes?
In my neck of the woods, they're rubber boots or sometimes rainboots.
DeleteHuh, hereabouts they're wellies. Full circle!
DeleteChris from Boise (Idaho, USA)
I never heard Wellies (except in books) until I came to England. I think Gumboots is an Australia/New Zealand term.
DeleteI am so not a hoarder though I am married to one. I am very good of ridding ourselves of things we don't need, use, want, but Carlos? Oy, the man still has shirts from the 80s in his closet.
ReplyDeleteI lovelovelove a freshly made bed with clean sheets on it, even when I haven't been sick. Luxury to me would be a freshly made clean sheet bed every day.
Hey, shirts from the '80s could be valuable "vintage" by now!
DeleteYou sure jumped right back into things with 2 talks and catching up on the backlog. Great that you felt up for it!
ReplyDeleteI have a powerful little hand vac that might have gotten those paw prints off the sheets. Fortunately, Clove doesn't get "in" the bed, just "on" the bed. And every day I vacuum up sand, grit, and hair that she sheds. Sure does keep things fresher longer.
A hand vac would definitely be handy! We have one left by the previous tenants of our flat but I'm not sure it even works. I should try it.
DeleteI had to laugh at the irony of you being vigilant about not being a hoarder when you bring home so much stuff you find on the streets. But I'm glad you are glad to be back at work.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about being selective! Believe it or not I don't bring home everything I find. LOL
DeleteFor me, my post illness ritual is to cut my hair, trim the beard and take a hot shower. I've never quite known why shorter hair makes me feel healthy again.
ReplyDeleteI can see how some grooming would make a difference!
DeleteI would just call that linen design -signed by the artist, Olga. and sleep in them feeling very special. Not fussy about dirt- they say that dirt is good for us. Hoarders is about mental illness really, not about too much clutter and garbage- it is how the illness manifests.
ReplyDeletethough when I watch it I am inspired to clear the kitchen counters.
Olga certainly doesn't mind the pawprints. I'm not extremely fussy about such things and I know there's dirt around all the time anyway -- with a dog in the house -- but I don't like it to be so visible.
DeleteThe paw prints made me smile.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are back to work and enjoying it. It's always nice to get back in circulation after feeling low.
Yeah, it's great to feel normal again.
DeleteSorry. I messed up my comment. Not quite awake yet...
ReplyDeleteI was going to say that I should be forced to watch at least five episodes of Hoarders. And here I am- bringing home stuff from the dump. But only good stuff, right?
So glad you're feeling better and back out in the world.
Hoarders is a fascinating show, though it's also "reality TV" at its most orchestrated.
DeleteNow I'm wondering if I'm a hoarder. I never get rid of clothes, even though I never wear half the stuff I have stuffed in my closet. Mmm.
ReplyDeleteReally glad you're feeling better and back at work. Ah life is back to normal. Yay!
You're only a hoarder if your "hoard" is unorganized and/or unusable. I've always heard that's the key difference between a hoarder and, say, a collector.
DeleteI think we all tend to hang on to some things long after we actually need them. I'm sure some folks will be glad to get the leashes and collard for their pets. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteKeeping things organized feels like a continuous process around here! I can't imagine how much more challenging it must be for people with kids.
DeleteLike Bob, I married the queen of hoarders. That's all I'll say about it!
ReplyDeleteHa! Well, every marriage is a balancing act. LOL
DeleteDave isn't a huge fan of getting rid of things and he always rolls his eyes when I suggest going through stuff.
I know the feeling. It's more than roll your eyes here.
DeleteOlga wasn't content with being beautifully painted by Vivian. She wants to display her own dog art. You have the sheets to prove it.
ReplyDeleteHa! She said, "Hey, I can do that!"
DeleteI agree about the sheet changing but oh dear on the paw prints. That show makes me sad and depressed. Although I definitely have things I could/should get rid of, I don't fall into that category yet.
ReplyDeleteIt IS a depressing show in some ways, because it doesn't really solve the problem -- it just alleviates the symptoms. The hoarders, inside, are still hoarders. But they do get money for therapy, supposedly.
DeleteSWMBO has been nagging, er, suggesting that I could go through my closets and get rid of stuff I no longer wear or need. I may start on that today. (grumble, grumble)
ReplyDeleteHa! You and Dave -- he had the same attitude when I suggest cleaning things out!
DeleteThat show upset me, because it's about mental illness, rather than a packrat tendency. It's about the inability, without great pain, to discard even garbage. Most of us are more in the cluttering world, capable of decluttering, when we eventually get around to it. After an episode or two I began to feel like a voyeur, so I stopped. I have to admit that Kondo, at the other end of the spectrum, creeps me out, too.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the presentations, you're evidently on the fifth graders wavelength. I don't think anyone on earth can say that about eighth graders, though.
Oh, it IS a very voyeuristic show, no question. There's an element of exploitation. But it's also up-front about the fact that these people have a mental illness and they make a big show of providing therapy and money for after-care (how much and for how long I have no idea).
DeleteI'm glad you're back at work & that you enjoyed it! I have been thinking for weeks about doing some decluttering around here, but so far all I've done is think about it...
ReplyDeleteThinking about it is the first step!
DeleteThey make dog booties. Many people used them in Tucson in the summer to save the dogs' feet from burning. Think Olga might tolerate them?
ReplyDeleteI don't think she'd want that. I'd rather just put up with a little mud! But that doesn't mean I won't complain about it.
DeleteHi Olga, Steve and Dave.Tell Olga I like her autograph. Steve I hadn't run off but I just got out of the hospital. I was there for 27 days.I came home from dialysis and passed out inside my home. I really can't say what happen, when, where and how I fell. My nosey neighbor (lol) across the street notice my car was still in the driveway too long and he called my son and told him he need to come see about me. When I see him I am going to thank him for being nosey. (lol) I just came home last Wednesday. I was from the hospital to rehab for 27 days. I am on a walker but driving and doing small things around the house. I was reading your blog when I wasn't in pain or sleeping from pain meds. I was reading that you had covid. 2020 i had coved and this time too. I've had it twice.Take care. Still love you three.
ReplyDeleteHi Angelicastar -- so glad to hear from you! I've been wondering how you're doing. Sorry to hear about the hospital buy I'm glad you're home now and YES, thank goodness your son was nosey! Take care of yourself and Olga sends her love!
DeleteReally, it must exciting good 1
ReplyDeleteto see that newberry project bearing fruit.
Yes, it's been great to be able to talk to the kids about it. (Which of course is the whole reason I did it in the first place.)
DeleteOh I love Hoarders. It motivates me as well to do things that I have let go for a little too long.
ReplyDeleteI was reading one of those click bait articles about how our bed is actually swimming in bacteria and I couldn't sleep thinking of all the creepy crawling things that might be in my bed.
It was an article about Miracle Sheets that supposedly kill bacteria. Yeah well I guess I will have to live with it because I cannot afford $300.00 plus dollars lol.
I am so glad that you enjoyed being back at work. It just makes one feel good to be back into a familiar routine.
Olga seems to be in a lazy mood. Maybe she is a bit achy and maybe the chill makes her hurt. Or even a walk could cause her body to hurt. I hope that she gets a little more perky soon.
Have a great day. xx
Well, we need SOME bacteria in our environment just to keep our immune systems primed. We can't live in complete sterility! But I'm not crazy about sleeping with visible mud, LOL!
DeletePrincess comes right inside the bed with me each night and leaves fur behind, I am constantly hoovering the inside of my bed, lol
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
Fortunately, Olga is not a huge shedder of hair. But I had cats for years so I know exactly what you mean!
DeleteA lovely photo at the top, of the light reflected on the road.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It caught my eye on my walk to work, and then I had to wait a while for a break in traffic before I could get the photo! (That's a very busy road.)
DeleteI know I shouldn't laugh, but those paw prints... We keep a towel near the back door to wipe paws on wet days.
ReplyDeleteI wipe her feet too, when I'm around to catch her. Somehow she got in without wiping on this particular occasion! It's amazing how much mud a dog can carry in the nooks and crannies of their toes.
DeleteMy partner had to at times deal with hoarders in his last job. No sooner would a place be cleared up, the hoarding would begin again.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a mental illness. I bet a lot of the people on the TV show begin hoarding almost immediately after the TV filming ends.
DeleteOlga will be selling a new line of bed linens with a lovely paw print design! I can see it being popular with pet owners. You and Dave can retire on her money!
ReplyDelete:)
Actually, it WOULD be a great sheet design. Kind of like camouflage!
DeleteAnd huzzah (American: hurray or woot!) for being back out in the world!
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
Huzzah! Huzzah!
DeleteIs it safe to give paracetamol to Olga? People medication to a dog?
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched hoarders in years, it isn't on here right now, but when I did I always cleaned out cabinets the next day.
The vet advised us to give her paracetamol (which is acetaminophen), so I think it's fine. I've seen online that some people recommend baby aspirin, and some people say NEVER give a dog aspirin. So there's a lot of conflicting advice. I'm listening to the vet.
DeleteWe have an old dog as well. She's on an NSAID specially made for dogs that works really well. Lucy has bone spurs on her spine which act up from time to time and are really painful for her. You can the med through a vet.
ReplyDeleteIs it Metacam? Olga was on that for a while but her stomach had trouble with it in the long-term.
DeleteSorry I'm late to comment, but that is a stunningly beautiful image you captured there, at the top of your post. When I was a girl scout troop leader (for homeless kids in NYC and NOT bc I'm a "mom") I observed girls ages 6 - 12 and I discovered that girls start to have inner lives at age 9. That's when they retreat. 6,7,8, y-o are all surface and spontaneity; 9 y-o become more withdrawn, more wary, more looking to the pack for inclusion. So they exclude authority figures, and in a way, I'm all for it. Don't take it personally. In their heart of hearts, they are saving the experience of having a knowledgable and kind librarian/reader talk to them about books and reading for later, when they don't have to look cool. I should know. I was an eye-roller from way back.
ReplyDeleteWe all go through that adolescent stage of rebellion, so I get it!
DeleteThe show Hoarders terrifies me. We had a hoarder living in an apartment on our floor, and one evening her neighbors smelled gas and called the fire department. They knocked and got no answer, so broke into the apartment and found two burners on without a flame, spreading gas throughout the apartment. There could have been an explosion. It then turned out the tenant was in the apartment, but hiding behind a ceiling high stash of things in her back room. She was in her 90s, and clearly not coping well on her own, so social services came in and helped her clean out the place and moved her to an assisted living home. It was sad, and also very scary. My son the firefighter opined that our apartment walls are thick concrete and any fire that broke out would have been contained, so long as the door was closed. But that didn't help me much as I had been just as terrified for her as for her neighbors.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you are back into the world again and that your Covid wasn't too terrible. Catching up after anything is always a slog, isn't it? And then to come home and have to do sheets twice! Well, it looks like Olga needed a comfy place to rest. Lovely to donate the leashes to the vet. I think I need to watch Hoarders. (And thanks for stopping by, too!)
ReplyDelete