The Last Filling - EVER!

I went to the dentist yesterday. I know you love to hear about my dental visits, so I won't disappoint. Of course, you should have read the post yesterday - the one I created with my imaginary keyboard while sitting in the chair. I can't re-create it because I don't remember anything. Well, just bits and pieces.

My dentist starts off by leaning in to give me a shot to numb me, when I stopped him to ask for my nitrous. "Oh, did you want that?" "Why yes, I do, thankyouverymuch." I breathed that stuff for a while and I could have sworn that it wasn't even turned on. But even if it wasn't, I'll take the placebo effect any day over no effect at all. It was probably on, though, because after a while, felt less and less. Then again, on or off, not feeling is my goal, so it worked.

I won't bother you with details of how he thought I was numb and when the drill hit my tooth, I wasn't quite numb. That stuff gets boring to write and must be boring to read since it happens over and over again. I will say, though, that I was stinkin' numb when all was said and done. I was so numb that I still couldn't eat by the time I picked up my youngest from school.

I will bother to tell you that I don't intend to ever have another cavity again for the rest of my life. Since my last visit and admonition that the cavities I have been dealing with are in-between teeth and I need to floss, I've been the Flossing Queen! Every day. Every. Day.

There were a couple of funny things that happened, but I just don't remember what they were. We talked about Mitt Romney and hunting. That's funny if you know me. Actually, I didn't do too much talking since my mouth was full of hardware, but there is always the illusion that there is a conversation going on at the time, isn't there?

All in all, the only reason I'm writing this post about my dental visit at all is because here it is, 24-hours later and my jaw still hurts. It's a good thing I'll never need another filling again!

Mud, Grass, Poop

I took my dog for a walk on the Fox Loop today. That's what I call a side loop off the Fawn Loop, that I don't do since the Bullying Incident. I like it. I never see anyone else and I can let my dog off leash pretty confidently.

As were were coming back down the hill, amongst the dry yellow grasses that dominate our landscape right now, he managed to find a mud puddle. I assure you that it's the only mud puddle within a hundred miles. He's good like that.

After muddying up his paws, he started to eat the green grass. It's the only green grass on the entire walk - or so I thought, but more on that in a bit. He was minding his own business mowing down his morning salad when a barking dog appeared at the fence across the street. I don't know if the dog saw my dog, but I was standing looking at this dog then at mine, then back at this dog. My dog did not care that there was another dog to pay attention to. He wanted to eat grass and was not to be distracted from this task.

The barking dog attracted the attention of its owner, who whistled for him. You know the whistle, the one that sounds like you're tying a knot. Coincidentally, that is the same whistle that I use for Mooch. He heard it and perked up his ears and ran to the fence to tease the dog about being locked up. I called my dog off and he gave up his antagonism almost too easily, probably because he was happy about the mud and grass. I just thought it was funny that the other owner basically called my dog's attention to her own barking dog. He otherwise wouldn't have cared.

Further down the hill, Mooch found some more grass in front of someone else's house. It's also known as a lawn. I don't let my dog walk in other people's yards because I don't feel it's polite. My dog, though, loves grass and my usual command, "Get out of the yard" wasn't working like it always does. As he wandered around the yard, taunting me to come in and get him, we both spotted the fountain bubbling water at the same time. I got to him just as he got to the fountain and started drinking. I got him back on his leash but not before imagining what we must have looked like had the owner arrived just then to see a woman with a dog on a leash while the dog was drinking out of the fountain.

While talking about dogs and yards and being polite, I feel badly for people who have their yards pooped in so much they feel compelled to put up a sign to deter this behavior. You know the ones:

I'll have to come back with a picture. 

What bothers me most about the signs, besides the fact that they're as unattractive as the poop is, is that the dog's tail is pointing up in the picture. When dogs poop, the tail curves down. Clearly these are not dog people!

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was my anniversary. My husband and I have been married for 13-years now. I spent a lot of time yesterday strolling down memory lane and viewing all the landmarks on the side of the road.

We met at work. I had a part-time job while going to college and threw myself into it, as I always do. He worked full-time, like people do when they're finished with school. I call him my college sweetheart, though, since we met while I was still attending.

We started out as friends. He made me laugh and was so easy to talk to. I spent entirely too much time at his desk discussing one thing or other that may or may not have been related to work. And if he left early, my heart sank. It wasn't the same without him there. We used to take long lunches and he introduced me to interesting parts of San Francisco that I wasn't familiar with. I still think he's one of the smartest people that I've ever met.

Did I mention that he has the most amazing blue eyes? I call them Holder Blues. I used to get lost in them and forget what I was saying all the time.

What a cutie-pie!

And then we were a couple. And then we used to sail his Etchells together. He taught me everything I know and I felt so completely safe on the boat with him, even when it was blowing like stink. We got engaged on the Etchells in gale force winds, or at least they felt like it. He asked if I would like to spend the rest of my life doing this. I said yes.

We got married on the 86' schooner Kaiulani. We sailed around the Bay with friends and family and said our vows in Raccoon Straights between Tiburon and Angel Island. It was a beautiful and fun three hour tour.

Ceremony performed by Capt'n Rob

After that, I graduated from college and started working, just to stop within a short time to have our babies. Two beautiful little girls, who aren't so little anymore. I raced the Etchells in San Diego while pregnant with each of them. Sailing until I couldn't move around as easily or travel.

Now our girls sail and our family has come back to this thing that I love so much. It's like we've made some kind of circumnavigation of life. My husband and I are racing the Etchells again this year in San Francisco Bay, but conflicts keep me out of the water more than I like. I live vicariously through my daughters' sailing programs and I am so very proud of them. I'd also like to mention that one of them inherited the Holder Blues.

So, 13-years later, through smooth sailing and stormy weather, my husband and I can really celebrate a wonderful adventure and I look forward to whatever lies ahead. Happy anniversary, indeed.

Sailor Girl ready for adventure!

Birds, Bats, Rats, Owls and Raccoons

I feel pretty good right now. It may have something to do with the three (THREE!) cups of coffee I had this morning before walking my dog. It could also be that I'm not feeling as sick today as I've been for the last few.

It was like a light switch flicked on. One minute I was fine and the next minute I was sick. It hit me hard and fast. I was hoping it would go away just as quickly, but it hasn't. I'm kind of a baby when it comes to being sick. I like to take it easy, eat soup and take naps. I know that it may sound like I'm sick all the time by that description, but there is nothing wrong with eating soup and taking naps on a regular basis. And when I'm sick, I complain a lot and take naps and eat soup. When I'm not sick, I'm cheerfully eating soup and napping for pleasure. See the difference?

Never mind.

My dog walk today took me past a house that is growing grapes on their property. A vineyard, if you will. Next to the vineyard, there was a box on a stick with a hole in it. The first thing I thought of was that it was a bat box. For bats. The flying kind.

It really got me thinking. There are bat boxes, owl boxes and bird houses. Don't they all have a box with a hole in it for something to live inside? How do the different animals know that it's for them? Why wouldn't a bird go live in a bat box? Or conversely, why wouldn't a bat go live in a bird house?

Upon further investigation, a bat box seems to be a little bit of different. Amazon sells one that is made to the specifications of the Organization for Bat Conservation. If the OBC has specifications, there must be more to it than a hole in a box. And after looking at the one mentioned and some others online, what I saw today was probably not a bat box at all.

So what about owls? These look a lot like bird houses with bigger holes. This place has some that you can buy and even recommends them for rodent control. I could have used them a while ago! Not that I could put one in my kitchen, but still...

I will stop there, yeah, yeah, bird houses are nothing to write home about. Although, bird feeders are another story. I have tried in the past to make pinecone bird feeders only to end up feeding some other critter. Cover the pinecone with peanut butter, roll them in bird seed and hang them by fishing line down from the back deck so that it hangs in front of your daughter's window and she'll be able to watch the birds from her room. OR find that a raccoon has pulled up the fishing line and run off with the pinecone leaving only peanut butter footprints behind. I'm sure this happens to everyone, right?

My Old Lady Suit

I got up this morning and put on my Old Lady Suit. The one with the achey shoulder, wishing for Granny's rumatiz medicine. The one with the achey knees and the hot flashes. In fact, I got into the car and turned on the air-conditioner full blast only to discover that it must be out. That, my friends, is worth a trip to the dealership for repair!

Rumatiz got you down?

Of course, it doesn't help that I have the mind-set that once school starts I can wear jeans. It's still too hot for jeans in reality. Though, I'll do anything to avoid shorts most of the time. I could have worn them today, though, since my Old Lady Suit didn't include the knee-high nylons pooled around my ankles. They're probably in the laundry that my lazy butt is behind on, as usual.

I brought my dog out to walk after school drop-off and since there wasn't a spot to park, I drove past the school to the private school down the road. We walked to a trailhead where we saw the sign warning us about rattlesnakes and mountain lions. It's funny how I only think about those dangerous animals when I see a sign and I hike along the same area from different trailheads all the time. I'm sure they don't stick to the posted areas, either.

The hike was straight up and my creaky knees were warning me about the last time I pushed them too hard. I slowed down a bit and kept going. My dog was panting like he'd just seen a cute pack of co-ed's running by, but when we reached the top, he didn't slow down - any further than his slow butt was already going. He walked past and sniffed to and fro while I tried to orient myself to where we were. I thought the trail was going to join a familiar loop and I knew that I should really go ahead and keep going. Unfortunately, (or rather fortunately) I couldn't figure out where we were in relation to what I knew. I felt guilty to turn back around and start walking down. My dog seemed disappointed but not in a way that made it hard to re-direct him.

As we walked down the trail again, I ran into a woman I know from school and we chatted a bit. She commented on the size of my dog and asked if he was friendly. After all of my crazy experiences, I know that my dog has an unpredictable side, but it's predictably so. I told her he was friendly unless another dog talks shit about his mother to him. I left out the part where he hates to be mounted. It should go without saying.

Just as we reached the bottom, we walked around a beautifully groomed grass field at the private school. My dog loves grass, but rarely gets a chance to walk on it. He started mowing it like the part-goat that he is until he came to some shade, in which he laid down. All my guilt for being an old lady today went away. That, and I can feel the burn in my thighs.

It's not that being old is a bad thing. In fact, age is only a marker of time, not an absolute when it comes to behaviors or physical milestones. And all my old age issues aren't even age related. The dark spots on my jawline aren't from age, but sun damage (says my Dermatologist). Either that or my dark brown leather couch is bleeding on me when I take my afternoon naps. And again, naps are not an age thing. Perhaps it's just a Greek thing. Or a Spanish thing. Not that I'm either of those nationalities, but since I've travelled to both of those countries, I'm allowed to nap every afternoon.

And my shoulder isn't rumatiz, but probably from hefting a Laser onto the top of my car. That's when my shoulder pains started. And the knees, that's probably from being overweight. That I blame on my age. Grown ups just can't eat junk food the way kids can and I can't seem to remember that. I enjoy my cupcakes and Donettes. And I enjoy a glass of wine or bottle of beer every now and then. Or is it a bottle of wine and a glass of beer?

I think the smart thing to do today is to take off my Old Lady Suit and get a shower in. Perhaps I'll sprinkle a little youth under my arms and take an anti-inflamatory-forget-the-shoulder-pain pill and get on with my laundry. And maybe do a little dancing.