Oh Christmas Tree

Everyone has their favorite thing about the holidays be it the presents, the music, the parties, cookies etc. My favorite part of Christmas is decorating the Christmas tree. When I was growing up, every year I looked forward going with my mom and dad to cut down our tree. Dad planted a small plot of evergreens, so we literally picked our tree out of the back yard. Then we'd get to decorate it. Dad would do the lights, mom the garland, and I got to have the fun of putting on all sparkly little ornaments. See the deal is, that I have a secret affinity for glitter, and Christmas is the only socially acceptable time to relish in that much glitter, outside of say Mardi Gras or Las Vegas.

This year, not feeling like fooling with a larger, traditional Christmas tree. I decided just to put up my VW tree. Yes, I have a Volkswagen Christmas tree. It all started when I was in college and driving my little bug around, I started amassing a fair number of Volkswagen ornaments. A few years back I thought, "Why don't I do a bug tree?". So far I have about thirty different VW ornaments.

I was recently telling a friend about my bug tree, and she laughingly said, "I want to see that." So here it is.

I know, it's a little random.

Every year I try to collect a new VW ornament, and here's the thing.....I always find at least one.

Here is this year's addition.

I think you can see why I just had to get this one.

Images that fill you with the christmas spirit.

The thing I love most about my job is that every day I get to look at tons of images that are a part of our Special Collections, some of which just make me laugh.

Here is an ad for Montgomery Ward (1946)

I just love that kid on the rocking horse. Doesn't he just fill you with the Christmas Spirit?

Or how about this one?

mmm mmm Christmas ham.

There is something about this whole image I find a little creepy.

The Gift of the year.

Bianka got her first Christmas gift of the year....a snuggie. I'm not quite sure how she feels about it.

For some reason it doesn't look like the pictures on the box. I'm not sure if it's too big or if I just didn't put int on right. Maybe I'm just Snuggie challenged. God that's just sad....

The Waiting Game

You know when you have a good day? I mean a really good day. The sun is shining. The birds were singing. You just feel wonderful for no real reason. Well, today was one of those days for me. The birds weren't singing because it was too cold, but the sun was shining and it was snowing...at the same time. I think that's pretty cool personally. I was feeling fantastic. I'm attributing it to getting back to my yoga routine. I had many laughs at work, even more at lunch with one of my best friends. Everything was going great. Then I came home.

First off a little black dog greeted me at the door. "What's wrong with that?" you ask. Well, the little black dog is supposed to be in a kennel during the day.

( starty my inner monologue)

Okay. Don't panic. Maybe you forgot to lock the cage when you left. Yeah sure, it's unlikely but it's a possibility. Go check.

Nope. the cage door is locked. Oh, but the cage top isn't latched. What?! THE TOP ISN'T LATCHED?! How can that be? You check that. Oh shit. That' means she jumped up, pushed the lid open, and climbed out. Crap.

Oh God, What did the vet's at OSU say?:

The most important aspect of the medical management of IVDD is exercise restriction. Please keep Bianka in a small kennel, run or cage for 4-6 weeks. ...You can have her sitting down with you while your are at home , as long as you make sure she does not have a chance to jump on/off the furniture....

Shit! . Strike one. I'm sure jumping out of the cage is worse that jumping off the furniture. Okay damage control. Where was she? Downstairs looks okay. I don't think she would've gone upstairs. Go to the second floor just to double check.

Shit! She has been here! AND she's gotten into the trash. What a mess! God...I can't believe this. This is NOT GOOD!

from OSU :

Do not allow her to go up/down stairs.

Strike two. Damn. I've been so careful. I've been carrying her in and out to use the bathroom. I've been trying to keep her quiet. I've even tried to use my yoga breathing techniques. Obviously they haven't worked. Have we just shot ourselves in the foot? Has she hurt herself again? She looks okay. She's running around the kitchen. Wait! NO! Stop that! Go to your cage and calm down! sigh... It's hard to tell. What is normal at this point. Call the vet to double check...just in case.

(end inner monologue)

I called OSU just to be sure of what I should be watching for in terms of signs of injury. Basically I'm looking for the same thing I did two weeks ago, but remember she didn't show symptoms right away last time. Yeah sure, she looks okay now, but who knows what kind of damage has been done. This exactly what I was hoping to avoid. Too late now.

If I weren't so afraid the I'll be making another emergency trip to the hospital, I find the whole thing a little humorous. I've never read or seen Marley and Me but I imagine this same type of scenario. Unfortunately this is no laughing matter. Luckily, I have an appointment for Bianka to see her regular vet tomorrow. I just have to make it through the next 24 hours. I'm really worried but there isn't anything I can do at this point, except monitor and wait. Uhhhh.! I hate the Waiting Game. In the mean time Bianka's securely locked in her cage and I'm looking for my wine opener.

I swear this little dog is going to death of me.

PS. The folks at OSU kinda giggled when they said "Just keep her quiet. If you can."

We'll see. sigh. ...

photographers ad from 1907

Occasionally, we come across interesting images, ads, or articles as a part of my day job. This is one of my favorites. It's an advertisement for a portrait photographer in Hazel Green, Kentucky.

Bianka Update

Great News. Bianka is home!!!!

The surgery was a success!

I can't say enough nice things about the Ohio State Veterinary Hospital. Bianka received excellent care. I looked up her surgeon on-line, he had a BS from Yale, MBA from MIT and DMV from Cornell. After reading that, I knew she was in good hands.

The doctors called me right after the surgery to tell me Bianka came through it well, which reassured me that I had made the right decision. Then twice a day I received a phone call, from Bianka's care taker with updates on how she was doing. Monday evening they told me that my Little Dog could come home on Tuesday. YAY!!!!! It turns out that Jessica, the care taker, has worked for the vet where my parent's take their dog. She recognized my mom. (Okay everybody, now it's time to sing "It's a small world after all.") Oh yeah, my mom, being the awesome mom that she is, drove up to Columbus and then turned around and drove 3 hours South to bring Binx home. Thanks Mom.

Bianka even got a souvenir from OSU

...well aside from the 5 inch incision.

Now all that is left is rest, recuperation, and rehabilitation, but every day I can see she's getting a little stronger. Seeing her wag her tail when as I took her out of the car was one of the best things ever. Now she can stand on her back legs and even take a few wobbly steps. Tonight I had to giggle as I watched her try to scratch her ear. Poor thing, she's not quite there yet.

But even with all of this progress, she's got a long road to recovery ahead of her.

This is when I told her that she'll need to spend the next 4 -6 weeks in her cage... and we all know how much she likes that. Oh you don't? Well here, let me refresh your memory.

(Wish us luck.)

Decisions...

Forgive me if I get a little sappy here. I'm exhausted from the last 24 hours. Today I was faced with a dilema that I had been hoping to avoid. While I spending time with my family, Little Bianka ruptured a disc in her back and within a matter of five hours or so, she went from acting like she was just a little sore to not moving her back legs at all.

I've been in this situation before. Growing up my family has always had dachshunds. I know that they are predisposed to back problems. My dad says "They're half a dog high and two dogs long", what do you expect? We've had two dogs go through this before. The first didn't receive treatment soon enough and had to be euthanized. With the second we decided to try surgery. We were given a 50% chance of full recovery. The surgery was expensive and emotionally draining, but it worked. Unfortunately, the dog re-injured himself a year later. We decided we couldn't go through the whole ordeal again. Oddly, the dog came out of it on his own, which is unheard of. Sure he walked a little funny, but he went on to be a part of our family for ten more, happy years.

So at 4am this morning, I am faced with this same question. Do I opt for surgery? The cost is now three to four times what was the last time we went through this fifteen years ago. But then, my other options are do nothing and leave dog to suffer in pain or have her euthanized. Neither of those I really consider "options." Besides that, I had just spent the last 4 hours taking her to an emergency vet, just to turn around and drive her to Columbus to Ohio State's Animal Hospital. Essentially my decision had really already been made.

There is no way I could say no to this face. Even when she's hurt, she's still cute.

So I agreed to have the surgery performed. The surgeon gave me the good news that Bianka show signs of "motor" and deep pain in her back legs which means she has not suffered paralysis, and there is a very good chance she will make a full recovery. Still I have to keep in mind that she has about a 15% chance of becoming a "cart dog." I've come to grips with that, and I'm okay if this is the outcome. Just as long as she's not in any pain.

So with a heavy heart I had to leave my little dog, which was just as hard if not harder than making the decision to do surgery at all, but I felt like I had made the right decision.

This is me about 12 hour ago when I had to leave her.

Bianka had her surgery later this morning. So far things look good, but it's still early. I think she'll have to spend the week at OSU. After that she'll still have weeks of recovery and therapy.

It may seem silly to go through all of this for a dog. I really hate it when people say, "pets are people too" or "our dogs are our children," but when it boils down to it, that's how I feel about this little one. The little house feels a little empty without the little dog in it. Already, I miss her sitting at my feet while I work at the computer or better yet her fussing at me when she thinks it's time that I should be going to bed. In that respect she's almost more like a nagging mother than a child.

Deep down I know that she's a dog and eventually the day will come when I'll have to say good bye to the little dog, but I'm just not ready to do that.

Meanwhile I'll keep you posted how she progresses.

day dreaming.

If I were to move back to Ohio, this would be my dream home. Okay maybe not my fantasy dream home, but my reality dream home. No offense to my little house. I love it. It suits me, and most importantly, I can afford it. :-) That in mind, it doesn't hurt to dream a little? Does it?





I've always said that if I were to move back I'd want to live in Yellow Springs. Did you notice the claw foot tub and one-car detached garage? But honestly YS house, you had me at Darkroom!

So alas I'm sorry little house, you just aren't right for me right now. I have a my own little house that I love.

My Little House

(or as my dad calls it, The House in the South)

Yep, this is the house for me right now. We've been through so much together.