Mommy & Maddox Tour Vermont
Spending time touring lovely New England scenery with my dog.
Maddox and I spend the day driving the meandering roads through the hills of Vermont. The weather didn't cooperate initially… I suppose the overcast skies lend a sort of gloomy mood. But the afternoon sun peeked out long enough for us to enjoy some walks in the woods and snacks on a blanket outside the Vermont Country Store.
Buttercream Falls
Horses graze at Jenne Farm
Jenne Road
View from Coolidge State Historic Site
Breakfast at the South Woodstock Country Store
Rock Candy at the Vermont Country Store
Maddox at Buttermilk Falls
Maddox’s Bed
My little girl tousles her blankets like a teenager.
Maddox makes her bed like she’s a teenager: messy. I straighten the blankets out - fully intending to keep the dog hair at bay - and she fluffs them up to suit her better. She probably can’t figure out why I keep messing with her perfect nest.
Silent Protest
On glucosamine pills:
Maddox: “I reject the lump of disgust you’ve so rudely heaved into my bowl.”
Sadie: “Can I have hers?”
Pirate Sadie
Minus one eyeball. Plus lots of adorable character.
I noticed some redness in Sadie's eyes, which is typical of allergy season. I tried the typical tricks (eye rinse, Benadryl), but only one eye reduced in redness. With a closer look, I noticed a small discoloration to her iris. With one stop at our regular vet, and a second at the veterinary ophthalmologist, I learned that she had a tumor inside her eyeball.
The choice was simple: it's a quick surgery to remove her eyeball, which was likely to have contained the cancer (which biopsy revealed to be melanoma). My poor girl... although she doesn't seem to have noticed. Distortion of the lens meant that she was already blind in that eye, and its removal likely eased some discomfort. In hindsight, I recall her rubbing her eye with her paw, and being startled by my outstretched hand reaching to pet her... like she didn't see it coming.
Post-op, minus one tumor-filled eyeball. Her face is shaved, bruised, and swollen.
She seems to be getting around okay.
Sadie must be feeling better- she's bossy for treats again.
Too soon for the costume?
Sadie's Crown
Well, she's officially a princess now... crown and everything. Except this one goes on her tooth and not her head.
Well, she's officially a princess now... crown and everything. Except this one goes on her tooth and not her head.
Sadie's cracked tooth.
Dopey after surgery.
Maddox and I hung out at the Acton Arboretum while Sadie was in surgery.
Snow Gear
A new meaning of the phrase 'dog shelter'
Keep in mind that we'd only been outside in this 20-degree day for... I dunno... SIX MINUTES. I had shoveled paths around the yard, and apparently they all lead back inside. Where it's WARM.
I massage Musher's Secret into the pads of their feet to prevent cracking and dryness, salt injury, and wadding of snow in-between Sadie's toes.
I finally broke down and ordered Sadie a full-body waterproof shell to avoid the snowball-butt woes. For anyone who's interested, this is Hurtta's Slush Combat Suit, size 22".
Snuggly Maddox
Maddox got scared by the noise of the plow last night, and she was able to calm down only once I wrapped her up under the covers with me.
Provincetown
Beach time with the fur babies
Whale watching at Race Point Beach, Provincetown
First Fourth
Celebrating with a bang.
When I moved to New Hampshire, I was aware of the legality of fireworks. I didn’t expect a spectacular show visible from my bedroom. I worried that Maddox would react with the typical panicked panting, drooling, and vomiting.
As it turns out, the pops and fizzles that occur most weekends throughout the summer months have prepared her for handling the Independence Day show. I was armed with calming pheromone sprays and her ThunderShirt, but all she really wanted was to hunker down and sleep in the dark quiet of my walk-in closet. She handled this Fourth with enough grace and calm that I felt comfortable leaving her side… Sadie and I sat out on the curb to watch. Maybe one of these years I’ll wander down to the lake for a front-row seat.
Maddox and the Tooth Fairy
No more bones in this house. Time for these kids to have some softer chewy treats.
Dufresne's Christmas Tree
Maddox, Sadie, and Riggins with a decorated tree in the Dufresne Woods.
Beach, Pizza, and Daiquiris
We spent more time at the beach this afternoon. It has been so long since I had to worry about getting sunburned. Or wore anything without sleeves. Or thought it reasonable that wet fabric should become dry when hung outside. Now I'm sucking down a daiquiri at Gelsosomo's while I wait for my spinach stuffed pizza to bake.
Lake Michigan
We all went for a dip in the GREAT Lake Michigan this morning. It was cool and refreshing... we may have to go back in the heat of the afternoon, too.
Sadie fetching
Maddox makes sand angels
Good thing Mom packed the eye drops
Back to camp and eating doggie ice cream in the screen room
Sioux Thunder
I got to Sioux Falls around 4 pm yesterday, which gave me enough time to walk around Falls Park with the girls and pick up a burger and onion rings on the way back to camp.
My hopes of getting a good night's sleep before the long drive to Chicago went sideways when thunderstorms rolled in. Three distinct bouts of thunder and lightning had Maddox curling up close to me for protection. Sadie seemed unphased.
Minnesota welcomes me.
Gas tank is full.
David Sedaris audiobooks queued up.
Only 587 miles to go.
Camping World
I got Maddox tired enough to pass out at Camping World while my fan was getting fixed.
Day 2: Liberty Lake
I decided to make it a two-nighter in Liberty Lake, and got to play on the water with Wendy & her friends. This also means the Camping World shop can get my fridge working first thing Monday morning. Plus, I can use Wendy's wifi to VPN into work and finish my mid-year review (sorry Kreg!). I'll call procrastination an 'opportunity'. 😜
Lake Bagels
Girls play & swim on the inlet... the island is like our own private dog park, complete with a goose-poop buffet
La Buena Vida, indeed:
Diana, Jerry, Wendy, and Jenn:
Dog Wagon
Road-trip ready girls! Maddox has decided that the box behind us is scary, and insisted on sitting in the passenger seat for the first stretch. King County roads are pretty bumpy (sometimes on purpose, like over Snoqualmie Pass), and the trailer causes vibrations to feed right into the frame of my car. Once we got over the pass (at a painful 50 mph), it was smooth sailing.
