Happy New Year!

Got up a little after 7 am and I release Hiker on Keith so she could wake him up.

We had some breakfast and then Keith and I headed out to put gas in my car and stop by Wal-Mart. Also stopped at Home Depot because I needed a new lamp shade.  Stopped by Big Lots on our return home. We then headed out again. Went to Best Buy where I bought myself a late Christmas present. I’ve been wanting a very small laptop to replace the Win Book tablet I bought a while back. I never was happy with the tablet. Best Buy had a little Leveno with a 10” screen on sale for $199.00. It doesn’t have very much hard drive space on it, but I just wanted it for a spare to play with. I already have two 17” laptops and one 15” laptop, but wanted a little one that is more “portable”.

After Best Buy, we headed over to the California Fish Grill and had lunch, then Keith wanted to get his car washed, even though we are expecting rain next week.

We came home after that and decided to lock ourselves inside for New Year’s Eve and stay away from all the crazy party people.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Been Out Running Around Today

So today Hiker and I got out of bed around 7 am. Hiker immediately went to Keith’s door and pushed it open then went in and jumped on him.

It was 24° here. We wanted to go up to Red Rock Canyon State Park, so we waited until a little after 8 am when it was a little warmer before we headed up that way.

We walked around there for a while taking pictures then headed back home. Took Hiker by the house and then Keith and I went to Topper’s Pizza Place for lunch. After lunch we went to a few stores around town and then headed home to be with Hiker.

Keeping busy.

My new look without glasses:

Red Rock Canyon State Park (Mars)

Eye Appointment And Keith Is Here

I was up early this morning. Had to go down to Panorama City to be fitted for one contact lens for my left eye. I was there over 2 ½ hours. Also ordered some regular eye glasses for when I can’t or don’t want to wear the contact lens.

I have to go back next Tuesday for a follow-up and for them to finalize the order of my one-year supply of lenses. They will mail them to my home. When the eye glasses are made, they told me they could have them sent to Santa Clarita so I won’t have to drive all the way to Panorama City again.

Keith got here about an hour and a half after I got home. Hiker was glad to see him. He and I went to Everest for lunch and then went to Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. Both places were swamped with people. I needed to pick up some Foster Grant reading glasses and computer glasses to wear when I have my contact lens in.

Today they told me to only wear the contact lens for 4 hours, tomorrow 6 hours, Thursday 8 hours, etc. They want my eyes to adjust slowly to wearing it. I got “Dailies” because I can throw them away each night after wearing them. They are a little more expensive but I save money on having to buy cleaning solutions and risk the chance of getting an eye infection. They are a much “healthier” contact lens.

Was somewhat warmer today. Got into the mid-60s.

Coldest Day Of The Year (So Far)

Got up early for a dog walk this morning, but actually Hiker and I could have stayed in the warm bed much longer. At 6 am when I let Hiker out to go potty, it was 22° here. Normally I would have crawled back under the covers when she came back inside, but we had our dog walk at 7:30. I decided to call my neighbor Jean and suggest we wait until around 8 am for the walk because there is frost and ice on everything and I didn’t want to fall while out walking. I’ve done that before. In fact, I think that’s how I hurt my knee years ago and it still hurts me now. Around 7:30, Jean called me back. She wanted to wait now until 8:30 for our walk. I agreed because it was still 22° and I didn’t want the dogs to freeze their little foot pads. The cold ground can hurt their feet as much as a hot ground in the summer time.

When we finally started out, it was 26°. The sprinklers had been running in the park, so everything was covered in ice and there was ice along the sidewalk. We had to be really careful to make sure we did not fall. Jean’s dog Charlie was slipping all over the ice. He could not get any traction.

It was too cold to sit on my patio and let the dogs play, so we skipped the play date today. I headed over to Stater Brothers to do my grocery shopping. I thought they’d be crowded since I got over there about an hour later than I normally do, but it wasn’t bad at all.

I have to get up early tomorrow morning and leave around 7:45 to head down to Panorama City Kaiser for my appointment with the contact lens optometrist. When I used to where contacts, they didn’t have “contact lens specialists” like they do now. Any optometrist could prescribe them. Keith is coming to start his visit tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be home no later than noon.

Another Sunday

Stayed in bed this morning, but didn’t sleep. I was watching “CBS Sunday Morning”. Got up at 8 am and had a little breakfast then I put some laundry into the washer and put clean sheets on the bed.

Decided to take down my Christmas garage door magnets and the few decorations I had put up on the front porch. I can tell I am still not over that cold. I feel much better, but just that little bit of work tired me out. It caused me to cough a little and made my nose run a bunch. Illnesses love to hang onto us longer as we age.

Didn’t really want to sit on the sofa all day like I’ve been doing for the past week or so. I put Hiker in the car and we drove over to the mall. They have a dog-friendly area called “The Patios” there, so I took her for a walk around there. They have dog drinking fountains and buckets of dog biscuits. Hiker liked that part, but she didn’t like all of the people wandering around, especially the kids. When the would come running toward her, she would stop and pee from fright. She’s not really very good with little kids.

Drove through Old Town Newhall and then headed for home. Stopped at the liquor store and picked up my lottery tickets for Wednesday.

My brother Ron called me from Paradise, CA. They’ve been having some rain and are supposed to get some snow soon. We are supposed to have warmer weather for the New Year’s weekend.

I thought I’d better do the vacuuming. I had not done it in 2 weeks because of my cold. That Shark Vacuum I have sure picks up a lot more dirt and dog hair than my old Dyson ever did.

Windy Saturday

Lately I have been so tired in the mornings. I just don’t want to get out of bed. I don’t know if I’m still getting over that cold and that’s causing the problem or what. This morning, Hiker started barking at me and nuzzling me a little after 8 am trying to make me wake up. 

Was cold again this morning. 31° when I checked the thermometer. After we got out of bed the wind started blowing really hard. 

My brother Keith texted me that he doesn’t feel good. Doesn’t know if it’s something he ate or if he has a flu bug. He said his stomach is upset and he’s achy. Hope he gets better. He’s supposed to come up and visit Hiker and me next week.

Wind blew all day long. They said we may have Santa Ana Winds all weekend. Heard there is a bad brush fire over in Ventura County and that Hwy 101 was closed down for a while because of the fire.

Christmas Day 2015

Would have loved to sleep in this morning as it was cold when Hiker went outside to potty, but my neighbor Jean wanted to do a dog walk because the dogs had not been together to play for over a week. 

After the walk and play date, Hiker and I had breakfast. I felt tired because I still have not completely recovered from the cold that I had a few days ago. 

I decided to watch a movie on Netflix. Decided to watch “Son Of God”. Thought it was appropriate for Christmas Day. I found it to be pretty much the same as “Jesus Christ, Superstar” but without the music. I enjoyed what I saw of it, but the walk this morning had made me so tired that I kept dozing off.

It stayed in the low 50’s here all day. We never did get the rain they had said might come. It started to get cloudy last evening around dinner time. I thought maybe it would rain during the night and into this morning, but we did not get a drop. Even though it was cold outside all day, it was sunny and they sky was clear.

Christmas Eve 2015

That cold really zapped all of the energy out of my body. It is still hanging on some. Had trouble dragging myself out of bed this morning. I’d probably still be there if Hiker hadn’t insisted I get up.

It was chilly here this morning…in the 30’s. They keep saying we have a chance of rain tonight and into tomorrow. That would be nice because we rarely have cold weather and rain on Christmas. Hiker and I have no plans for either day except to veg out on the couch, so rain would be great.

I had a moment a while today. While watching my soap (Young & Restless) there was a commercial showing that CBS is going to show 2 Andy Griffith Show episodes tomorrow for Christmas. One being "The Christmas Story" and the other being "The Pickle Story". The Andy Griffith Show was Ben's all time, very favorite TV show and those were 2 of his favorite episodes. I suddenly wished he was here to watch them with me and it brought tears to my eyes. 

I have been tired and a little light headed all day today. Proves that I’m still not completely over this cold. I’ll be resting all weekend as Keith will be coming to visit next week and I want to be well when he is here so we can go places. I think some of the light headedness might be from my vision. I’m hoping that when I go to get some contact lenses for my left eye on December 29^th that I will be able to focus better. 

Hiker and I have no plans for tomorrow.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and hope you get what you asked Santa for.

Feeling Better So Was Out And About

Up at 7 am this morning and felt about 70% better than I have felt for the past 4 days. Still not totally over this cold yet, but getting there.

Today was the last day for me to use my eye drops from when I had my cataract surgery. Glad I don’t have to do that anymore (until the other eye needs it).

After breakfast, I drove over to Food-4-Less to get some milk, orange juice and eggs. Didn’t want to run out over the weekend. It was cold outside, but sunny.

I felt better today so my neighbor Jean and I went over to the new Topper’s Pizza Place in Canyon Country. We’ve been to the one in Valencia, but ours just opened last month. Traffic was crazy and people were running traffic lights and not stopping for pedestrians. Made me remember why I usually do not drive anywhere near the holidays.

Another Day Of Rest

Stayed in bed until just a little after 8 am this morning. Thought about staying in bed longer but Hiker kept bugging me to get up. Had a bowl of cereal and paid a bill online before I plopped down on the sofa for the day.

I think we had some drizzle last night because things were “damp” this morning when Hiker went outside.

Still have my cold but feel a little bit better today. Been sneezing and blowing my nose like crazy, but I saw online that this is a good thing because it gets the mucus out of your body.

I’m hoping I feel well enough to get out tomorrow. My neighbor Jean and I talked about go out for pizza if I feel up to it and I need to stop by the store and pick up some milk and orange juice.

Last evening, around 4:30 or so, my cable and Internet went off. Called Time Warner and found out there was a major outage. It lasted about 2 hours or so. I feel so “lost” when I have no TV or Internet.

Stayed cloudy here all day but didn’t see any rain. My brother Keith said it had rained down in Orange County.

Another Day Of Couch Surfing

Went to bed around 9 pm last night. Took a sleep aid hoping that I’d get more sleep than I did the night before. I did go to sleep about an hour after going to bed, but woke up around 1 am and could not go back to sleep, so I turned on the TV and finally fell back to sleep.

Hiker woke me up again around 6 am to outside. While she was out, I used the Zicam Nasal Swabs and when Hiker came back in, we went back to bed. I had considered staying in bed all day, but around 7 am, got up to make some poached eggs for me and Hiker. At least I have not my appetite.

Decided to just stay in my jammies and camp out on the sofa in the living room for the rest of the day, but I could also go back to bed if I wanted to later on. I’d rather watch TV on the big screen in the living room so that was why I moved to the living room.

So I have more time to get well now. I was supposed to go to my friend Linda’s house on Tuesday for a group lunch, but because I’m sick, one of the other ladies in our group had to go to Oxnard because her childhood friend just had a stroke and some other things that have popped up, Linda had to postpone our lunch to another day.

My neighbor Christiane called me to see how I was doing. She’s been sick with a bad cold also. She came down with it before I did.

Some of you have been asking how Hiker is doing. Well the Metacam that I gave her for 3 days seems to have helped. She seems to be back to normal, running around the house, playing with her toys and jumping up on the sofa and bed without whimpering. I’m so glad that she is no longer in pain. It kills me when she hurts and cannot tell me what’s wrong.

Stupid Cold

Last night, just before I went to bed, I started getting the sore, scratchy throat again and I started coughing. Not a deep chesty cough…more of throat cough. When I went to bed, I could not sleep. My nose was stuffy, my eyes were watery, my throat was scratchy and my coughing upset Hiker so much that she got off the bed and went into the living room for a while. I got up in the middle of the night and used my Neti Pot to unclog my nose. That helped some.

I only got a little over 4 hours sleep and I felt like crap when I woke up. Used the Neti Pot again before breakfast. Right after breakfast, I headed over to CVS Pharmacy to pick up some Zicam Cold Relief Nasal Swabs. I keep seeing ads for it on TV saying that it is clinically proven to reduce the symptoms and duration of the common cold, so I thought I’d give it a try.

Hope it works because I have special lunch with some friends on Tuesday, and I don’t need another cold that hangs on for 3 weeks like my last one did because on December 29^th, I have an appointment with the Kaiser optometrist to get my contact lenses for my left eye and I don’t want to put that off any longer.

Spent my Sunday resting on the sofa watching TV. I want to accelerate the healing of this stupid cold. I’m guessing that I picked up a bug when I was at Kaiser last Wednesday seeing my retinal specialist. They say it takes about 3 days for a virus to incubate and medical centers are full of germs.

We got almost a third of an inch of rain yesterday. Not a lot, but anything is better than no rain. It watered what’s left of my lawn at least.

Fudge, Cookies And Rain

Hiker and I slept in this morning. I woke up around 1:30 am with a sore throat. That’s not a good thing because usually when I get a sore throat, it eventually turns into a full-blown cold. I had a couple of Airborne Cold Tablets left from the beginning of this year when I got really sick, so I dissolved one in some water and drank it. Woke up again about 3 hours later and throat was still sore, so I used the last tablet. When we got up around 8 am, my throat felt much better.

Hiker seems to be feeling much better. I guess it’s because I’ve been giving her the Metacam medication that the vet gave me for her back pain. Last night she jumped up on the bed and did not cry and she’s been running around playing and jumping up on the sofa and seems to not be in any pain. I’m going to give her the Metacam tomorrow and may Monday and then I’m going to stop giving it to her for a while and see how she does. The vet didn’t not tell me how long to give it to her. The label on the box says to give it “as needed”. Since I read that it is a very strong Nsaid and that it can cause internal bleeding, I don’t want her on it for a prolonged time.

Her feeling better is the best Christmas gift she can give to me.

I spent the day watching a “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” marathon on TV and making fudge and baking cookies. Made a pan of peanut butter fudge, another of plain chocolate fudge and another of chocolate walnut fudge. Also made a batch of sugar cookies and a batch of peanut butter cookies.

Seems like my peanut butter fudge never comes out right. It doesn’t seem to solidify. Maybe I’ll quit making that kind.

Started to drizzle her around 2:45 pm and by 3:00 pm it was raining pretty hard.

Today's Blog Is Early

Didn’t do a dog walk this morning because I want Hiker to rest up and take it easy all weekend. She seemed better this morning. She jumped up onto the bed by herself when she came back inside after going potty and she jumped up on the sofa several times. She also stood on her back legs when I was giving her a treat at noon.

Hiker even let me brush her teeth a little this morning. I bought some poultry flavored enzyme toothpaste at the pet clinic yesterday and she loves the taste of it, so that helps a lot.

She and I drove over to the bank this morning so I could use the ATM. It was in the low 40’s at that time.

My neighbor Jean and I are heading over to the senior center this afternoon to go to a DMV Senior Driver Refresher Class so I will be sending this out early today.

Hiker Was A Good Girl At The Clinic

Hiker woke me up at 5:15 am wanting to go outside to potty. It was 28°, so as soon as she got back into the house, we went right back to bed and did not get out from under the covers until 7 am. I was surprised that Hiker had jumped up onto the bed since she seems to have a sore muscle. I was not back into the room when she did it, so I don’t know if she whimpered when she jumped up there or not.

I can really see the capsule they injected into my eye this time. Usually it takes a few days or weeks before I start seeing it floating around inside my eye, but this time, I saw it as soon as he injected it and now it keeps floating across my vision every now and then. This capsule is full of steroids and slowly dissolves. That’s why it lasts for 4 to 6 months until I have to have another one.

Hiker did really good at her dental appointment. A young Asian girl cleaned Hiker’s teeth and she said Hiker was really good about it. The only problem she found was a fractured back tooth that appears to have been broken 2 to 4 years ago. She said the pulp shows a little bit, but it looks like the tooth has “healed” itself because it didn’t bleed when she cleaned it and Hiker doesn’t seem to have any pain in the area of the tooth. She told me to try to brush that one tooth at least once a day to try to keep as much tartar and plaque off of it as possible. They told me to bring her back in 2 months for a check-up which will only cost me $20 and that I probably should bring her in every 2 months to keep an eye on the tooth. When they clean their teeth, they wrap them up tightly in a towel and sit on the floor with the dog’s head in their lap. I noticed once when the door was opened that Hiker was just lying there and not causing any problem, but when they got done and brought her out to me, all she wanted to do was get out of there (LOL).

I also had the vet check Hiker out to see what he thought was causing her pain when she jumps. He said he didn’t think it was a pulled muscle because she walked fine and because I told him she still runs around and plays. He said because it only hurts her when she tries to jump that it sounds like she tweaked her back. He gave me an oral spray to give her once a day for pain and inflammation. Hopefully that will help her. If not, I’ll take her to another vet.

I just let Hiker relax in the house all day to maybe help her get better. Tonight my neighbor Jean and I are going to walk around our community to look at the Christmas lights. I was going to take Hiker, but I think I’ll leave her at home because I think she might be better if she does not get out and walk up and down the hills in the cold.

Eye Appointment

Got up early this morning. I had an appointment with my retinal doctor down in Panorama City and Jean was picking me up at 9:30 to take me down there.

He gave me another eye injection. I need them every 6 months and I had not had one since the middle of July so I was due.

On the way home, we stopped at a place called Wolf Creek for lunch. I didn’t care for it much. I didn’t think they had a very good menu and the burger I got wasn’t really that good.

Hiker was happy to see me when I got home and I was happy to see that she jumped up onto the sofa without whimpering when I got home. I still think I’ll have the vet at Tags look at her after I have her teeth cleaned there tomorrow morning. Maybe he can give her a shot or some pills to relax her muscles. If he can’t do anything for her (as they are a clinic), there is a new vet not far from me who takes walk-in appointments and I’ll take her there.

Hiker is all muscle, no fat. Dogs that are muscular seem to injure themselves more than dogs who are not.

Cold Here

Hiker and I slept in late this morning. I noticed last evening that Hiker whimpered a little again when she jumped up on the bed. I’m thinking the cold weather is making her joints hurt because we had a couple of days that were warmer and she was fine. She was jumping up on the bed and sofa with no problem at all. Funny thing is, she still runs around and plays with her toys and even wanted to pay with her football in the backyard today. It seems it’s just that she doesn’t have the strength to jump up on things.

I met my friends for lunch the Backwoods Inn today. Had a great time as usual. Love those gals.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my retinal specialist. Jean is picking me up around 9:30 to head down to Panorama City.

Front row left to right…Robyn, Carol and Linda. Back row left to right…Me, DeDee, Jane and Ruth.

Typical Monday

We got about a 10^th of an inch of rain last night. Better than nothing I guess. It was in the high 30’s when Hiker and I got out of bed this morning. The wind was making it feel even colder.

We did a dog walk with Jean and with the wind blowing, I was freezing. I even made Hiker wear her Martha Steward jacket.

After our walk, I made some breakfast for me and Hiker and then I headed over to Wal-Mart. Usually they are not crowded at the time of the morning I got there, but the closer it gets to Christmas, the more crowded they get.

After lunch, I did some housework that I wanted to get out of the way. Didn’t really want to do it, but forced myself and now I’m glad that it’s done.

Breezy Sunday

Slept in late this morning. Figured it was Sunday and I had no plans. But when I sleep in late, then I feel so lazy the rest of the day.

Did some laundry and had French toast for breakfast, then I put Hiker in the car and went to get my lottery tickets. Thought while we were out I’d take Hiker for a ride, so we drove around the valley for a while.

 Last night I watched a movie on Netflix. It was called “Beyond The Sea” and was kind of a bio on Bobby Darin. It was “OK” as movies go, but I loved the music.

Today I watched a movie called “It’s Complicated” with Meryl Streep. I like her, although I didn’t care much for “Ricki And The Flash”. It was just “OK”.

Was sunny but cool here most of the day. Hiker and I just stayed inside all afternoon.

Saturday After Christmas Party

Had a good time at our annual community Christmas party last night. There were about 150 people there. Good food, good friends and neighbors. Had my picture taken with Santa.

Got home around 9 pm and was wide awake so I sat down and watched TV for a while. Hiker kept wanting me to go to bed so I finally did around 11 pm but I turned the TV on in the bedroom until I fell asleep.

We got up this morning around 7:30 or so. Didn’t really have any plans except to do some laundry, which I did and then I baked a sheet cake. No special occasion for the cake. I just had it in my cupboard and thought I’d make it.

Nice day outside. Bright and sunny. Temps stayed in the 60’s all day.

I watched a few movies on Hallmark and Lifetime. All in all, a relaxing, quiet Saturday.

Have a busy week coming up. Monday will be a dog walk as usual, then I need to go over to Wal-Mart. Tuesday I need to get my car washed in the morning if the weather is good and then I’ll meet my friends at Backwoods Inn for lunch. Wednesday I have an eye appointment down in Panorama City with my retinal specialist. Thursday I’m taking Hiker to have her teeth cleaned and that evening, we might walk around the community and check out the Christmas lights. Friday will be another dog walk and that afternoon, my neighbor Jean and I will head over to the senior center for a refresher DMV senior safe driving class.

Left to right – Jean, Me, Santa, Christiane and Sally

Community Christmas Party Tonight

Got up early for our Friday dog walk with Jean and her dogs. It was very cloudy while we were out but didn’t rain at that time.

After the walk, Jean asked me to come to her house to help her out with something on her computer that she didn’t understand. While there, she wanted to drive over to Pet Smart to pick up some dog calendars. They go on sale this time of year, normally $14.99, on sale for $7.49. She got a Cavalier King Charles calendar and I picked up a Blue Heeler calendar. I also bought a little squeaky Santa toy for Hiker that was also on sale.

Came back home and it started to sprinkle some. Only rained for a few minutes and then the sun came back out.

The water was turned off on my street while the work crew fixed a bad leak in a pipe just down the street from me. They turned it back on around 1:15 or 1:30. I was busy doing other things, so I barely noticed it being turned off.

Jean will be coming by at 4 pm and she and I are going over to the community rec room to help them set up for the community Christmas party which starts at 6:30 pm. Should be fun.

Below is our Christmas card to everyone for this year.

Hiker Seems Much Better Today

Hiker seemed better during the day yesterday and today, but she still is being very careful when she jumps up on the bed or sofa and she still is very nervous about me touching her anywhere near her butt or back legs. She has not whimpered since the first day, so whatever the problem is appears to be getting better, but I’m still keeping an eye on her.

Some people have suggested that it may be her bowel glands but she seems to be going potty OK and she is not dragging her bottom like dogs do when the glands need to be expressed.

I’m still thinking that she just had a sore muscle or leg and hopefully not walking her for a couple of days will help. She still runs around like a crazy dog playing with her toys, so she can’t be in much pain.

Sometimes I think she is reacting to me being so worried and upset whenever she seems to be hurt or have something wrong.

She actually went outside and we played with her football for a while. She was running around pretty good, but she still is cautious when she wants to jump onto the sofa or the bed. Seems it’s just something to do with the jumping and not the running.

I spoke with Jean on the phone and asked her if she would check Hiker’s glands tomorrow and she said she will, but she doesn’t think that is the problem since Hiker is not dragging her butt.

Started getting high, thin clouds here around 11:00 am. Had a few earlier this morning, but really started to roll in. Hope we get the rain they keep promising. My brother Ron who lives in Northern California has had rain for 2 days.

Got a call from our community office that my water will be turned off between 9 am and 2 pm tomorrow. There has been a water leak down the street from me for several weeks and they are just now getting around to fixing the problem, so they have to turn the water off on my block. Our Christmas Party is in the community rec room tomorrow night.

By late afternoon, Hiker seemed to pretty much be back to her old self, but I’m still going to keep an eye on her.

Worried About My Hiker Girl

Hiker had me worried yesterday. She and I went on a morning walk before I went to meet my friends for lunch. She was fine before I left but when I got home, she didn’t come to me when I called her and when I went to touch her, she backed off and whimpered. She didn’t want me to touch her. She wanted to go outside so I opened the slider and she had trouble going down the steps. When she came back in, she would not come near me. She ate her dinner OK. Later I went to take a shower. She always comes into the bedroom and gets up on the bed while I’m in there. When she jumped up on the bed, she whimpered again. I gave her a little bit of ice cream but she still did not want me to touch her. Later when it was time to go to bed, she was still lying in the entryway. Usually she is in my bed already. I made her go outside to go potty before bed and she went out OK but when she came back in, she had trouble coming up the steps this time and she would not come to bed with me. She went back into the entryway.

I finally got her to come to me in the living room and I started touching her all over to see where she was hurting. She didn’t like it when I would get near her hips and back legs. I got her to let me message her back there and slowly stretch her legs. I gave her a baby aspirin and I went to bed. She finally came in to join me around midnight and I helped her get up on the bed because she kept going around it like she wanted to get up on the bed but couldn’t. I took a sleep aid and we both went to sleep. She did not move from under her blanket the entire night.

This morning she jumped off the bed when the alarm went off and she did not whimper, but she came in to lay under a small table I have by the entryway and she whimpered a little when she got under it. I gave her another baby aspirin.

She ate her breakfast and went outside. I went back to bed because I had not slept that well and she stayed in the living room.

I had to go do my grocery shopping and she seemed a little better when I got back home. She went outside for a while and this time did not have any trouble doing the steps.

I’ll keep an eye on her all day. I’m thinking maybe she just pulled a muscle and is in a little bit of pain like when we have back pain or whatever. If she doesn’t seem better by Thursday, I’ll take her to a vet.

She seemed to be doing better in the afternoon. She even wanted to walk up to the mailbox with me. I had messaged her hip area often, so maybe that was helping. Since I didn’t get much sleep last night due to being worried about Hiker, I kept tried to take a nap on the sofa this afternoon.

Lunch With My Beloved Friends

Was dreaming about my old job again last night. Every time I dream about when I was working, it is nothing like what it actually was. For some reason, I’m always working at night in the dreams and I never worked anything but the day shift. This time we were dismantling a building because the company was closing down. I was helping clean out the offices and getting ready to retire. Weird.

Hiker and I got out of bed at 7 am and I had some breakfast before we headed out for a morning walk. Was pretty warm outside. When we got back home it was already 71° but they keep saying we are going to cool way down and have some rain by Thursday.

Had a great time with my widowed girlfriends today at Chili’s.

Our friend Linda (one of the widows) took this photo of the rest of us today at Chili’s. Too bad she didn’t have the waitress take a picture so Linda could have been in it too.

Left to right – DeDee, Jane, Me, Robyn and Ruth.

Regular Monday

Got up early this morning because we had a dog walk with Jean and her dogs. We did a little over 2 miles this morning.

After breakfast, Hiker and I went to get my Lottery tickets.

Relaxed the rest of the day.

My weather station was reporting 89° today. They said on the news that we were going to have a few days of warm weather and then maybe some rain on Thursday and Friday.

Another Lazy Day

I’ve got to stop being so lazy. Hiker and I stayed in bed until 8 am again this morning. As usual, I let Hiker out at 6 am to go potty and when she came back in, we got back into bed. I turned the TV on to watch “CBS Sunday Morning”, but instead I fell back to sleep and didn’t wake up until just before 8.

Last evening, before sitting down to watch a movie on Netflix, I had a major crying spell. Must be the season because I have not done that in a very long time. Goes to show you what how grief never goes away….it just changes.

It was another lazy day. I washed my sheets and towels, but didn’t do much of anything else. Once again sat on the sofa most of the day watching the Hallmark Channel. Just didn’t feel like going out and doing anything.

Thought once about putting Hiker in the car and driving up to Vasquez Rocks, but just wasn’t in the mood. Guess the time of year has gotten me feeling down a little.

Did go out into the back yard with Hiker and through around her football with her. She loves to make me chase her while she runs with it in her mouth.

Was 85° here today.

A Lazy Saturday

Did not do much today.

Got up late. Did a load of laundry? Watched movies on The Hallmark Channel.

Before noon, an animal control officer came to my door. They were canvasing the neighborhood to see who had dogs. They already knew my name and Hiker’s name. I thought maybe she needed to see Hiker’s papers but she just wanted to know if Hiker was still the only dog living here. They do this every now and then to make sure people have licenses for their dogs.

Thought about taking Hiker for an afternoon walk, but I felt lazy today and I think she did too because when I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk, she went over into a corner and curled up. I figured that meant “nope”.

Busy Morning

Got up early this morning. My neighbor Jean and I went to a holiday boutique at a church up in Montrose, CA and while up that way we had breakfast at a place called The Dish in La Canada. On the way home we drove through my old hometown and by my high school and the house I grew up in.

Was cloudy and overcast all morning but the sun came out in the afternoon. I took Hiker with me over to Sam’s Club to fill the car with gas.

Our community is having their annual holiday boutique at the club house tomorrow, but I don’t think I’ll go. I usually end up not buying anything anyway.

Got An Afternoon Hike In Today

We actually got out of bed at 7 am this morning, only because I wanted to get over to Sam’s Club and do some shopping. While I was there, I noticed they sell contact lenses. Was checking them out for price and most of them were about the same price. Noticed Dailies are about $45 for 90 lenses.

It was 21 years ago on this date that Ben and I moved into our home here in Canyon View Estates (Canyon Country, CA) and I’m still here. I love my community. It’s quiet, well-kept and I feel very safe here.

After lunch, I took Hiker over to Placerita for an afternoon hike. I thought it was going to be chilly because the trail is in the shadows, but there was a breeze and it was a warm breeze. We stopped to sit on a bench a little over a mile into the canyon to relax and enjoy nature and kept hearing something walking around in the bushes down by the creek bed. At first I thought it was a bird but the footsteps were larger than a bird. Could have been a deer, but never did see anything.

Was almost 80° here today but didn’t really feel that warm outside.

Sad Day

Hiker and I are getting too used to sleeping in each morning until 8 am. Have had no reason all week to get up early so have been staying all tucked in under the covers.

I did get some housework done today. I was not able to do any the week after my surgery so it needed to be done.

Sat down and got all ready to watch the Y&R and about 10 minutes into the show, they broke in with the news of a mass shooting in a Social Services building in San Bernardino, CA. So have been sitting on the sofa most of the day watching the on-going news.

So far 14 confirmed dead and at least 14 injured and in hospitals. Sad situation.

Not much else to report on this day.

Enjoyable Lunch With My Friends

Fell back to sleep again this morning after Hiker came back in after she went potty. I had the TV on to watch the morning news, but could stay awake. Hiker was asleep too, but she stood up on the bed to stretch and it woke me up and I noticed it was almost 10 minutes after 8.

After I had a bowl of cereal of breakfast, Hiker and I walked down to our community office to pay the monthly land lease. Hiker likes to go down there because she knows that Marcie has doggy treats in her desk drawer. When I mentioned to Hiker that we needed to walk down there, she got all excited and started whining at the door and she pulled me all the way down the street and around the corner to get there. When I opened the door to the rec room, Hiker pulled me right into Marcie’s office and went right up to her for a treat.

I sure will be glad when I finally get to the optometrist to be examined for the contact lens for my left eye. Some days my eyes focus pretty good, but other days they don’t and I get slight headaches. The headaches are bad but they are annoying. Both my retinal specialist and my eye surgeon told me that if I didn’t get the contact lens and just wore eyeglasses with one plain lens and one prescription lens that I would get headaches. My appointment with the optometrist is the week after Christmas.

I just called Tags Clinic to make an appointment to have Hiker’s teeth cleaned. I’ve never had her teeth cleaned before so this is going to be something new. They do not use anesthesia so that’s good, but I know she will be afraid. A pet dentist comes to the clinic 3 times a month to do the cleanings and it’s about half the price that a regular vet charges.

Had lunch with my widowed friends at the Round Table Pizza today. Fun as usual.

Really nice day here today. Got up into the mid 70’s.