King Zack Stands Deprived

Another day, another butterfly! This comma showed up on our buddleia yesterday afternoon, flashing bright orange as it fluttered through the air. I love how nature seems to color-coordinate both the comma and the peacock (see yesterday's post) with the flowers they feed on.

So much happened yesterday I'm not even sure where to start. Let's go with Olga first -- we took her to the vet, and despite her recent dizzy spells she got a pretty clean bill of health. She weighs 23.4 kilos, which is normal. The vet said her heart and lungs sound good and she looked in Olga's nose and mouth and palpated her abdomen and saw no sign of abnormality, beyond all of Olga's regular lumps and bumps. She has a lot of lumps and bumps, as many old dogs and particularly bulldog breeds do, and the vet said there's no way to know what they are without biopsies -- and honestly there are so many of them it would break the bank and cause the dog no end of misery to try to biopsy them all. But she said that none of them felt worrying. I think they're all benign lipomas and other harmless growths, so we'll just take our cues from Olga and how she feels overall. As long as she's eating and enjoying life, no need to meddle with all of that.

We did get a prescription for a medicine that's supposed to help dilate blood vessels in her brain, perhaps increasing blood flow and reducing dizziness. We'll see how that goes. Unfortunately vestibular disease, if that is in fact what's going on here, is not something that can be cured -- it has to subside on its own.

As if to prove to us she's fine and more veterinary attention isn't warranted, Olga took me on a walk of the high street afterwards, which is more of a walk than she's managed since our return from Pevensey. She seemed to enjoy it. Lots of sniffing.

I also did a ton of stuff around the house. I cleaned the entire kitchen counter, back in the corners and under the microwave, and now it's sparkly white. I cleaned the windowsill and the exposed shelving. And Dave and I went through the spice cabinet and threw away some old spices that we've had for ages -- like ginger and tarragon that expired in 2014. It felt good to get all that stuff out of there.

Then I went out and weeded the patio (above). I didn't really mean to do the whole thing, but I got started on one flower pot and it just snowballed from there. Now, I know you're going to say, "But I still see weeds!" Yes, I left behind the coltsfoot and the lady's mantle growing between the paving stones because I like them.

Our patio is still ridiculously crowded. I think we need to reorganize some things. I have vague plans to put a new cafe table and chairs out there but at the moment I'm not sure they'd fit!

I also weeded and swept the side return. Similar story -- I left behind the campanula and the St. John's wort, which I and the insects enjoy. But the campanula is greatly reduced in size and spread. I filled a whole yard waste bag with weeds and swept-up leaves and debris from these two areas.

There were other small things, like laundry, and I was busy for the better part of the day.

Oh! And I scheduled our citizenship ceremony. August 13 is the day we will join the ranks of His Majesty's subjects. That's the earliest option they gave us. Woo hoo!

The recent wind and rain broke a flower head off one of our hydrangeas, so Dave brought it inside. I told him, "Hey, that would be perfect for King Zack!" (Remember King Zack is a vase -- there's an opening in the top of his crown.) But Dave is not a fan of King Zack -- don't get me started -- so he insisted on putting it in a glass vase within view of King Zack, as if to taunt us both.

As for all that debris on the end table, well, this is a subject of endless debate. Dave likes to keep everything he might need within reach of his recliner, which means that tabletop is always crowded with junk. I like a clear surface and his collection of pharmaceuticals, vitamins, snacks, paperwork and loose pencils and pens makes me nuts. But hey -- marriage, right?