Bits and pieces

Toward the end of my morning commute, I pass a lady on a bright red scooter traveling in the opposite direction.  She’s an older lady with short white hair and glasses, and she looks so merry tootling along on her boxy scooter.  Sometimes, a light yellow jacket that flows behind her; on chillier mornings, she wears a purple fleece pullover.  I love that she appears to be completely comfortable on the scooter.  When I see her at stoplights, she never gets intimidated by the big SUVs around her, and she takes her right of way with confidence.  I wonder how she decided to get the scooter.  Maybe she wanted better gas mileage?  Maybe a grandchild suggested it?  Maybe she figured she was old enough to get that chubby red scooter she’s seen in movies and, darn it, she will have it?  Whatever the case, I bet that lady has spunk.

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During the walk from my office building to the parking garage, I noticed that two women had stopped and were staring and pointing at something in the access road.  When I looked down the road, I saw an enormous hawk standing over what appeared to be a dead squirrel.  The hawk was standing stock-still, passersby notwithstanding, and it was so large that I initially thought it was an owl.  Its curved beak was frightful, and I hurried along the path to the garage.  If that hawk decided that any of us wanted his dinner, I did not want to be nearby.

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Lately, Ted has been licking a spot on his paw that is red and swollen.  He has had a skin irritation problem before, so I took him to the vet this week to get it checked out.  The vet said that it wasn’t the skin issue; instead, Ted had broken his “thumb”!  Oh, great.  Apparently, it’s very common in small terriers, which didn’t make me feel much better.  The vet shaved off the fur around the nail bed, where it was clear that the joint was swollen and out of alignment with the paw, and there was a chance of infection.  Thanks to another (common!) infection, Ted got a shot of antibiotics and a prescription for a twice-daily antibiotic pill for two weeks.  Plus, we have to clean off his paw twice a day with an antiseptic pad.  Ted’s maintenance level has sharply increased as a result of this vet visit, which was the most expensive one to date.  Despite the vet’s reassurance, I felt like a negligent dog owner because I didn’t realize that our dog had broken a bone, for goodness’ sake.  Oh, well.  At least Ted doesn’t have to wear a cone around his neck.

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Thanks to the nonstop Olympics coverage and a record low number of seniors on JG’s team this year, I am working on the last volleyball scarf!  Even more exciting, there are still three more weeks left to the season, thank you for asking.  Three scarves are already finished and tasseled, and the last one is benefiting from the crop of fall television premiers this month.  At the risk of jinxing myself, I am determined not to stay up into the wee hours of the morning on the day of Senior Night in order to finish this year, so help me.