Poor, Poor Doggy.

Yesterday, Snowy had to get his teeth cleaned. For you and me, that’s not such a big deal, but dogs have to be put to sleep for that procedure. We haven’t had his teeth cleaned in the ten years we’ve had him (I know, I know, we’re bad doggy parents) but it’s fairly expensive ($160) and it was just never “a good time” to have it done. We’ve been told time after time by various vets that he needed to have it done, not just for dental hygiene reasons but also because bacteria in the mouth can also spread through the body and cause problems in other places.

So finally we just decided to go ahead and “git ‘er done.”

Sarah and I were gone to Virginia when Steve brought Snowy home after the procedure at 1 pm; he had been awake from his anesthesia for a couple hours but according to Steve, he was still rather loopy and drunk. When he walked around the living room, he kept on sliding sideways on his little rear because he couldn’t keep his balance. He had a rattle in his lungs, was in a good bit of pain, and couldn’t eat anything.

At one point, Steve couldn’t find him anywhere and went on a house-wide search for him. He finally discovered Snowy on the third floor in Sarah’s room, tucked in on the floor next to her little pink footstool—the footstool he usually sits on top of when she’s in the room with him.

We didn’t get back home till about 5 pm and by that point, Snowy was desperately needing the nursing attention of his two ladies. He was all shaky and whimpery and was making the most piteous little sounds you’ve ever heard. Sarah grabbed him and immediately went into Full Nursing Mode.

You can see the blue Band-Aid on Snowy’s foot where he had the IV.

There’s a lot of love between these two.

The vet told us that Snowy would probably not have a very good night and Sarah graciously agreed to be the one to deal with him so that Steve and I could rest.

This morning, this is how I found them.

Snowy is trying to display his newly cleaned teeth for his Smithellaneous friends.

Then he got a little embarrassed for being such a show off.

Such a peaceful scene and so good to see our little buddy feeling a little better.

A Window on Wanchese

Yesterday I went out to lunch with a lady from our church.

We ate at a restaurant in the village of Wanchese (WAN-cheese), which is on the south end of Roanoke Island. Manteo is about five miles away on the north end of the island. And that’s all there is on our teeny island—two little ol’ towns!

While both towns were named after Indian chiefs, they are very different from each other. The residents have worked diligently at keeping their village unspoiled and unchanged and it is truly a delightful—and different—sort of place to visit.

We ate here.

Fisherman’s Wharf is not like most restaurants. In fact, it’s not even like most seafood restaurants.

For one thing, you can look out the restaurant window and see fishing boats pull up. The tube you see in the picture vacuums up the catch from the boats and deposits it into some mysterious reservoir under (or behind?) the restaurant. (My seafood knowledge is nil.)

Not only does seafood come into the restaurant from the water side, it is also brought in on big trucks to the front of the restaurant. Talk about fresh seafood! I wouldn’t be surprised if the tuna I ate at lunch had still been swimming in the deep blue sea just a few hours earlier.

Just a mile or two from that restaurant is Wanchese Seafood Industrial Park, the only one of its kind in the nation. Millions of pounds of fresh fish and seafood are unloaded there. Products from the industrial park are shipped to points all along the East Coast, and around the world from Norfolk International Airport.

(I just love that kind of trivia.)

Anyway . . . back to lunch. Because we all know how much I love lunch! And breakfast! And dinner! And snacks! And chocolate! (Somebody stop me!)

The views at the Fisherman’s Wharf are interesting and quaint no matter what direction one looks.

This is a crab house at the end of the parking lot at Fisherman’s Wharf; I’m not sure if the two places are connected but I just loved this little building. I’m not exactly sure what that yellow plastic shovel is for. Do people shovel shrimp into their own container? As I said, my knowledge in this area is nil. Less than nil, even.

Wanchese really is like a little town in a novel and most definitely worth experiencing.

I’ll close out with a few more paragraphs about Wanchese taken from its website.

The village of Wanchese seems a world away from the Outer Banks, even though it's only a few miles down the road. Wanchese isn't exactly a tourist town; it's a fishing village and has almost always been one. Long before the first European explorers landed, the Algonquin Indians, and perhaps others before them, traveled to the southern end of what is now known as Roanoke Island to fish and gather shellfish.

If you take a drive around Wanchese, don't bother to look for the downtown area as there isn't one, unless you count the post office. However, two-lane roads wind about the village, and the homes here are an eclectic mix, many with small rowboats and brightly colored decoys as yard art. You'll discover neighborhoods where mobile homes are neighbors to new construction, old farmhouses, and slightly tumble-down homes from a generation or two before.

There are a few diners, a bed and breakfast inn, and even a couple of art galleries. For decades, the population has consisted of mostly fishermen and the children of fishermen, but that's beginning to change as folks from other parts discover the town's quiet, not yet commercialized atmosphere, a refuge from the beach--even though it's just down the road.

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Today Sarah and I will be driving to Virginia Beach (about 4 hours round trip) to go to a funeral for a church member’s relative. We happened to have two funerals that got scheduled back to back, so Sarah and I are going to one, and Steve will go to the other.

Sarah, of course, is happy about the chance for a road trip. That girl loves to travel! Hmmmm. Wonder where she got that quality from? Could it be that it’s because she was in 37 states by the time she was six years old?

Naw. Must be something else . . ..

Bargains and Cars and Folding Chairs

Most of you know I love a bargain.  Here are a couple of my recent bargain-y outfits.

Shirt: $3.00    Skirt:  $1     Shoes: $15   (new/on sale)

The shoes weren’t quite as big of a bargain as everything else but since I’ve worn them at least 100 times since buying them two years ago, my “cost per wearing” is actually pretty low.

 

 Shirt:  $3.00     Pants: $7.00:  Shoes: $3.00   

I have actually come to the point in life where I actually shudder at the thought of going to a mall.  (Unless I’m just there to people watch and get an ice cream cone.)    I suppose if I were very wealthy, I might pop into a mall every now and then, but truthfully, I could still see myself pulling my Porsche up to a Goodwill every week or two, as well!  Goodwill is a good habit.

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Last week I wrote about the fact that I don’t notice the vehicles people drive as much as Steve does; he can take a three second glance at something going by and give me a ten point report about it.  I can barely tell you what color the car was.

It was funny--just a couple hours after I wrote that post, Steve and I attended the bi-weekly Senior’s Luncheon held in our church’s gym and noticed these cars parked outside. Even someone like me would notice cars like these! The great part about these vehicles is that they are both driven by ladies in their 60’s and 70’s.  

As soon as I turn seventy, I am trading in my mini van for a red Mustang . . .

. . . or a yellow, um, whatever this is.  It is certainly cute!

 

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A few comments. . . .

Shannon said,  “Hi Becky, What website did you use to create your doggie picture? I think you've used it before. I think it would be fun to play around with!”

Shannon, I did that at photofunia.com.  Unfortunately, it’s been a year or so since I did it and that particular graphic seems to have disappeared. From what I can tell about that site, they bring in new graphics pretty frequently and remove old ones.   So although you can’t do that exact “trick” with your photos, there are plenty of other cool ones to choose from—like these.

    

 

 

I especially enjoyed these comments about Sarah and I being so classy that we would take folding chairs to an outdoor concert!

Kelly Dunn said, “Ha-ha...the folding chairs were the first thing I noticed when I got to that picture! Manteo seems so neat!”

Kelly, I was hoping that our folding chairs would attract absolutely NO attention. Oh well! (And yes, Manteo is truly a wonderful place to live.)

Rachel said, “My dad used to drag me and my mom to "bluegrass" concerts when I was little. And, yes, we often had card table chairs. My dad, to this day, prefers to use them (he said those other chairs sink down until the circulation in your legs gets cut off). And....here's the funniest part. He used to glue carpet padding to the chairs to make them soft. Yes, the green-blue-pink multi color stuff. Really, you have nothing to complain about :)

Rachel, I was actually sorely tempted (and I use “sore” in the most literal sense) to attach something to the seats of our chairs.  I really thought I had plenty of natural padding to make the chairs plenty comfortable but after an hour of sitting, even green, blue, and pink carpet padding would have been a welcome addition.

Maybe that’s what I need to do to set myself apart from my fellow Manteo-ers and all the tourists—carry around folding chairs enhanced with carpet padding.

Hmmmmmm . . .

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Lastly, sometimes I run across a blog that is so incredible that it makes me never want to write another word or take another picture for as long as I live.

If you look in the right sidebar, you’ll see A Holy Experience.  It’s a great place to drop by if you just need a spot of beauty and peace in a hectic, crazy day.     Ann’s writing is beyond gorgeous and her photography is even more lovely than her writing. 

If you have a moment or two, do yourself a favor and go by and see her.

 

 

Napkin Folding (Take 2)

Folks, we have a Take Two on our hands!

I just realized that the video I posted earlier cut off the ending few seconds of the little episode Sarah and I filmed so I've re-posted that segment to include the ending.

I also added a couple "bonus tracks" you might want to see.

I thought it was interesting that so many of you who listened to Take 1 were surprised that I don't have a southern accent. Actually, I must have a little bit of an accent because when I listen to my family in Wisconsin talk, they sound different to me. However, the people who have a southern accent sound different to me too, so I'm not sure where I fall in the "accent line up."

Anyway, happy viewing and happy folding!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Napkin Folding Vlog

Well, here is my first vlog--in all its glory!

Watching myself (and listening to myself) on video is just slightly more pleasant than having five root canals at the same time, but a vlog I promised you and a vlog you shall have!

Sarah was my helpful videographer and she managed not to giggle at me too loudly while she filmed of our scintillating "folding footage."

Enjoy! (While you watch, I'm just going to excuse myself and bury my head under my pillow.)

Surgery Scheduled!

Today’s visit to my plastic surgeon went well. After he came into the exam room and we had chatted a few minutes I asked, “Are you ever willing to deviate from your 3-month timeline for doing replacement surgery?” He said, “No, I’m not.”

Then he paused and added, “Well, I suppose I might possibly make an exception depending on how your expanders and skin are doing.”

After a quick exam he seemed rather surprised and said, “Hmmm. Everything is softening up so well that I think we actually can go ahead and do the surgery next month instead of in the middle of September.

Although I did refrain (just barely) from hugging him, you can bet I was grinning hugely on my way out of his office!

I have to go back to Greenville a week before the surgery for paperwork and blood work. I also have to meet with the surgeon once more to make the final decisions about silicone or saline implants, and what size I’m shooting for. (Which won't be a whole lot different from "the originals.")

The surgeon mentioned he could do a Dolly Parton job for me but after just a little bit of thought, I declined. (He even offered to throw in a blonde wig.) Nice to have a surgeon with a sense of humor!

It’s hard to express how happy I am about this. I know it seems like a small thing—a two-month wait instead of a three-month wait. But to move past the discomfort and impermanence of the expanders and to feel like I’m taking a giant step toward being done with this ordeal—well, to me at least, one month is a really big deal! (Dolly or no Dolly!)

Note: Sarah and I are planning on recording my Napkin Instruction Vlog tomorrow. I know you probably won’t even be able to sleep tonight due to your keen anticipation as you wait for this momentous event to unfold. Or in this case, for the event to “fold.” As in napkins. Folding. Get it?

Never mind.