Saturday, August 19, 2006

The Herb Garden

I'm taking a shot at seeing whether or not I can grow some herbs on my windowsill. Ive tried it several times before, but have never had much luck. I'm one of those people who does NOT have a green thumb. I think I've killed nearly every live plant I've ever had in the house. Jeff finally bought me a nice looking fake hanging plant so I wouldn't have brown, wilted plants hanging int he house. Anyway...not to be thwarted by previous failures, I purchased a book and did some reading on how to grow herbs. Well, I read about 5 pages and then started falling asleep. I've decided to test my imagined skills at herb-growing and I'm winging it! Who knows? I might have success this time around. I'll post the pictures of their progress throughout the next month.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Dance Fever

Mock me; ridicule me; say as you will. But I have waited, in bated anticipation, for this season’s finale of “So You Think You Can Dance”. Yes…I have spoken aloud my secret addiction to Fox’s reality dance TV show, and I have no shame! I count myself amongst the masses who rush home on Wednesday evening to watch the competition, then again on Thursday for the results show when one of the dancers is voted off.

So here’s a quick run-down on the final four:

Benji Schwimmer
He cracks me up nearly every time he dances. He’s extremely animated and pulls faces while swaggering across the floor, but he doesn’t come off as being completely goofy. Somehow it all works for him. I think he has a good chance of winning the whole shebang.

Travis Wall
This 18 year old is gonna give Benji a real run for the money. His spiked hair seems in complete contrast to his fluid, contemporary movements…and I love that. When I first saw him I thought he would be real hard-edged and punkish, but it turns out he has a sweet disposition (and a slight lisp). It was unexpected.

Donyelle Jones
I really do like Donyelle, but I think the fact that she was partnered with Benji is what has kept her in the running for so long. She dances well enough, but I think other girls (most notably Allison, who was voted off two weeks ago) have shown more versatility.

Heidi Groskreutz
I can’t put my finger on why, but I really like this girl. She’s Benji’s cousin and it would be a hoot to see them take first and second place. She’s a little spitfire, which makes her fun to watch.

It’s 4:30PM – just 3 ½ hours to go. I’m jonesing for my fix!

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Kadie's Great Big Toe Tragedy

A couple of months ago I had to bring Kadie (aka Kadie-Bug the Wonder Dog) in to see the vet. She had a toenail (clawnail??) growing wildly out of control that had become too thick for me to clip without help. Even though Kadie is 15, she still has the strength of a younger pup and it's near impossible to hold her down to clip her nails, clean her teeth, brush her hair, or do anything else she finds offensive to her personage. The dog has mad Houdini skills and can get out of just about anything. It took three people to get that nail trimmed. Dr. Runnfeldt did the clipping while two assistants held Kadie down.

Well, three or so weeks ago while Kadie was sleeping I checked her nail again and couldn't believe what I saw. The thing had regrown and mutated into something three times as thick, wide and long as a normal nail. I brought her back to the vet on a Saturday, who promptly told me to come back on Monday for a "toe amputation". She trimmed off about a 1/2 inch from the monstrosity to make Kadie a little more comfortable until the surgery.

I know...I know. Toe amputation hardly sounds like something normal for a dog. But believe me when I say, there was no other option. Here's what it looked like before surgery began. Bear in mind, this was AFTER the vet had taken off about a 1/2 inch a few days before.

When I picked Kadie up after her surgery, the vet talked to me about how the procedure went and what to expect over the next few days. Then she started laughing as she explained why she amputated a little more of the toe than was really necessary. She initially stopped at the first "knuckle", but it left the rest of Kadie's toe sticking straight up. Basically...Kadie was flipping a birdie! I almost wish Dr. Runnfeldt would have left it. It could have been a real conversation starter! "Hey! Is your dog flipping me off???"