We had our annual Brian's Birthday Party in May, but this time I had to ask all my dog buddies to leave their kids at home, as Sadie just doesn't seem to like her own kind - and shows it, unfortunately. It's odd because she's so very gentle with the grandkids, and pretty laid back these days with most folks.
Oh well, I guess she's picked up some of my bad habits in this year and a half she's lived back with us.
Less pleasant news item by far for us was Hurricane Irene, which was well covered by the national news but left out our item: Brian injured himself very badly in the cleanup afterward, and wound up needing knee surgery in mid-October. We were without power for 5 long days, relying only on the generator (my very favorite appliance ever) - tolerable but not much fun. The house, thankfully, was not damaged, though we had a small leak in the basement that kept me busy mopping up and wringing out dog towels. Compared to so many folks who either lost their houses or almost did, we were lucky.
BUT (yes, there's always a "but") a rather impressive tree came down in the storm, pushed our fence back and then dangled in the utility wires until Sept. 1, when the crew finally came to untangle, cut and remove it.
They did a great job, but of course when they left there were still lots of small tree-sized branches scattered over the private road, so Brian and I suited up and began dragging them off the road.
That's when Brian went one round too long, tore out his meniscus on both sides of the knee, and then waited for several weeks for it to get better. It didn't - hence the surgery, rehab, etc. Poor Brian really suffered until the surgery was done and he began to heal; for me the 5 days he spent in the knee immobilizer and on crutches, unable to do very much at all including make his every two hours feeding schedule, were pretty grueling. But we all got through it, and once Brian was on the mend, it was Sadie's turn. I knew this was coming, but explained to Dr. Kate that I was not prepared to have two patients in stitches (insert your own joke here) and Sadie would have to wait till Brian was de-stitched and at least able to drive himself to rehab.
She had her surgery in November, and came out of the removal of several "bumps" and "lumps" like a champ, but looking like a Frankenpup. Three of her four legs were shaved for various inserts and tests, and she had three shaved spots, one on each side, and one on the back of her neck, with neat but to me nauseating stitches laced up tight. How to keep her from chewing? First I tried one of my shirts, which being such a good girl she let me put on.
Nice fit, but the scoop neck was so scooped she could walk right out of it. Next, another shirt, another style, and this one worked for the entire time we waited for the stitch removal. 
As for the garden, alas, the entire lower terracing was overgrown by 3-4 foot weeds even before Brian got hurt. It was a very wet season, and by the time I could even think about the gardens, I couldn't see them! I'm just hoping that the plants will be as forgiving as they have in the past, and we can slowly reclaim the plantings. I actually thought it had snowed the other night, as the moon was full, and the long piles of weeds still waiting for something else to happen looked white and silver in the moonlight. I had to go outside to prove to myself it wasn't so!
I'm still teaching my loyal students, now down to 3, as we approach the end of our second year of instruction, and they are still a joy. We all hope that the 4th woman, badly injured in an accident right after Brian's birthday, will recover and rejoin us soon. And Brian had two grants last year, one to teach another art class in Pine Bush, and the other to create a mural for the local high school. Both projects went well, and he's waiting to hear about another class this year.
So, that's enough for now. I hope to be better at posting this year than last - I could hardly be worse, as this post alone has equalled all of last year's! Here's hoping most sincerely for a better 2012 for everyone!
