I'm not packed, but I'm pre-packed. I have all my stuff laid out on the dining room table so I can at least see it all in one place. I just have to get it all into a bag. I am doing my best to pack light and in fact I've seriously considered not taking my big camera. I'm using my phone more and more nowadays and I'm pretty happy with the results. But I also know that would mean no close-ups of birds or insects without my big zoom lens, and less satisfactory landscapes with the telescoping effect of the phone lens.
So, yeah, I'll probably take the big camera, even though it's a freaking boat anchor.
I am not, however, taking my creaky old computer. I can use Dave's. And I'm going to limit myself to one pair of shoes. I may squeeze in my sandals if I have room.
Mrs. Kravitz wanted to borrow my hedge trimmer the other day, so I opened up the garden shed to get it and noticed this little footprint in the concrete. I don't know how I've never seen it before. Someone's pet, ages ago. A cat, I think.
It reminds me of the dog footprints in the floor of the my old apartment building in New York. Pets, immortalized!
Our own pet is seeming less and less immortal. She's been positively crazy the last few days. She's become very hesitant about eating food from her bowl -- she wants us to hand-feed her. She seems hungry and she eats readily, but only when we hold the bowl or (as Dave discovered) elevate it and sit with her. We think it has something to do with her arthritis and the position of her head when she bends down, but then, she bends to sniff on the sidewalk with no hesitation at all. So who knows.
And then last night she got up in the middle of the night and came out to the couch. I have no idea why. I gave her half a paracetamol with some leftover chicken, thinking she might be achy, but the obvious possibility is that she has some anxiety because she can tell we're about to travel.
I feel terrible leaving her for two weeks. Guilty, guilty, guilty.
Our sage is blooming. This is one of the patio plants I had to put up on a chair to keep it away from slugs and snails, and it worked well enough that we got a flower. I'm calling that a victory!
Yesterday Mr. Russia pressure-washed the front steps and the parking area in front of our house (half of which belongs to the neighbor). He rented a pressure-washer and asked again to use our hose and water supply, and we said yes, but I forgot how much of a project it is. Like last time, he was out there for hours, cutting and trimming vegetation and blasting away every speck of stray sediment. Now we can perform surgery on our front steps, if necessary.
I will be posting late (possibly very late) tomorrow, coming to you (insha'allah) from Buenos Aires!
(Top photo: Hollyhocks in Hanwell on Wednesday.)
21 comments:
When my previous dog was getting on a bit, I bought a " stand" that contained 2 bowls raised up so he didn't need to reach down to the floor. Happy Holidays and safe journey. I don't envy you negotiating airports, having just been to Slovenia last weekend. ( Son's wedding)
Olga has had so many ups and downs in her old age. Hoping this, like many of the others, will pass. There’s something heartwarming about the paw print. Stand back Buenos Aires! (But I’m sure Evita had more than one pair of shoes.)
I used to believe phone camera will substitute landscape camera adequately. Then I was wrong. I am definitely getting baited by the camera companies with brighter ultrawide zoom these days. Then I can travel light.
Don't forget your passport! You will need it in order to board your flight to Brazil. I hope you have a good time over there and I look forward to seeing your photos - but please - no flowers!
Our dog had terrible anxiety when we’re packing for a trip. He would physically block doors forcing us to push his body with the door to open it and then get terribly fat while we were gone from binge eating.
It does sound like anxiety. Poor girl. I expect she'll sleep a lot in your absence.
When our little dog Ozzo had issues with arthritis we put his food and water dishes on a brick so he didn't strain his neck while he ate or drank.
Safe travels, fabulous time!
Bending to sniff the sidewalk/footpath doesn't use the jaw at all, so of course that is easier. I think Frances has a good idea with the stand to raise Olga's bowls.
I'm sure that Olga knows you're leaving. Our cats can always tell. Maurice goes into super-anxious mode when she sees Glen's big duffel. But you know, it's not so much US they're worried about leaving them as much as just their routine being broken, I think.
I think. I told Glen the other day that Maurice hates change as much as I do.
Please try not to let any guilt get in the way of your fabulous trip. That would be sad.
Safe travels tonight!
I'm betting Olga was just sensing the upcoming trip. Every dog I've ever had the pleasure of living with has done something similar.
Love the hollyhocks.
I hope your Spanish and Portuguese is great! I'm not sure how much English is spoken in South America. We'll soon find out. Have a great trip.
Love seeing the hollyhocks, too! You don't see many of them in Colorado.
You need to take your sandals for a two week stay! You will need them for your long walks you will take while you are wherever you are!
Poor Olga ... Yes, get her an elevated feeding station! She knows what is going on!
I hope you and Dave have a great time!
Enjoy your travels and holiday! Olga needs a doggy table, I have one for my dog and he loves it. The table sits 10 inches high and accommodates two bowls, water and food. (Amazon might have them.) The hollyhocks are fantastic and I love your sage plant.
love the hollyhocks and definitely take your sandals, you'll regret not having them. and raising Olga's food and water bowls is a good idea. You'll have a house sitter, right? even so, I'd feel the same way about being gone for two weeks. still, have a good time.
Hope it's a wonderful trip and that Olga adjusts well to your absence. My cat did fine while I was gone for 9 days but then was totally neurotic when I came home.
Beautiful hollyhocks and I love the pawprint. Iknow what you mean about leaving Olga. Lizzie's moving older and odder too and I dread that we will be gone for close to a month in October. I'm still hoping to have a live-in cat carer for her, but that hinges on the woman's 18 year old (already sick) cat departing the earth this summer. I don't want to wish that away for her. Maybe she is just anxious about your trip. They know, you know.
Bon Voyage! It will be wonderful!
Pat has elevated bowls, though I think animals adapt to what's comfortable. Two of our longest-lived girls ate lying down for the last few years of their lives. I'm sure Olga feels a little anxiety with the packing going on, but will settle in quickly with the sitter once you're gone.
Have a great time!
Safe travels! Pretty clear Olga is not happy about her people leaving.
Hope you have a fabulous time!
*sigh* I'm in spam again.
I’m super conscious of the attachments between pets and their people, more so than before, having witnessed how deeply my daughter losing her pup affected her. So it makes me sad to hear Olga is slowing down. But the old girl has a lot of juice in her yet. The raised bowl idea might be a good one, I think you’re on to something with the arthritis. Poor girl. But she has you, and is loved.
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