Difficult Day

The sun broke through the dark rain clouds late this afternoon, just before sunset. It's been a very dark, wet, dreary day.

In the Yard House Restaurant the sunscreens had not been pulled down so the sun burst through in a brilliance that couldn't be ignored.

We were having a quick meal -- a late lunch or early dinner, not sure which. As I leaned forward, I noticed my silhouette. Nothing so far today had seemed worth blipping, so I held the camera to my right and clicked, hoping that my camera capture caught today's color.

We left the house early this morn to get Chloe to the vet. Surgery was scheduled today. She would be spayed and also an I.D. chip inserted.

A nurse was coming to our house at 9:00ish to do the test to get the two of us okayed for a newer level of life insurance. She needed height, weight, blood samples, blood pressure, urine, EKG, and a million questions answered. She needed roughly 45 minutes with each of us.

The funeral for our friend Chris, (the retired American Airline pilot who died Dec. 20th while piloting his own personal aircraft), was scheduled for 1:00 p.m. It poured rain for the entire 20 mile drive to the service.

I was scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. appointment at the Audio Dept at Kaiser Permanente to have my hearing checked (we exited the funeral early and arrived late for the medical appt.). I had a hearing test 10 years ago; they told me then to come back in a year, so nine years later, I finally had made the appointment. (Because I absolutely hate medical stuff, I procrastinated.)

Then we phoned to check on Chloe to see if she'd be ready by 3:00. "No," they said, "Please come at 5:00."

Kaiser Permanente Medical Center is near the local shopping mall and lots of eating places, so while waiting to go get Chloe we went to the Yard House restaurant. Their "happy hour" begins at 3:00. I wasn't feeling very happy, but half-priced food was appealing. We shared a Caesar salad, a tower of onion rings, and we each ordered a small yummy pizza.

Then to the vet's office to get our Chloe. The front desk clerk explained all the pain medication and antibiotics and then ushered us into an exam room because the vet wanted to tell us about the surgery.

He spent an amazing amount of time with us -- the surgery came with complications so the incision was larger than normal (I'll skip the details), but he did say that he thought we had one of the sweetest little dogs that their office had ever seen and that everyone in the place fell in love with little Chloe. She is home with us now, with a very long incision. She's eaten a little, drank a little water, and being so well behaved in spite of her pain. This little dog has absolutely stolen our hearts.

Well, I'll try not to have a "Chloe day" everyday here on Blip, but these first 3-days have been quite a journey.

Good night from Southern California.
Rosie (& Mr. Fun and Chloe), aka Carol