Kings of the Earth and Odds and Ends

                                                            
                                                            Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch



This is an amazing book; read it!!  I read a review in my Sunday paper last week and was so intrigued I bought it and jumped right in.  It springs from a true story of 3 bothers and is the work of Jon Clinch, the wonderful author whose acclaimed first novel was FINN ( the imagined story of Pap Finn, Huck's dad).  Wow!  I already had several HUGE stacks of to-read books, but this one grabbed me, forced me to buy and start reading. I'm loving it!!

Wed. Mr. I've-Spent-Most-of-My-Life-Of-Six-Months-In-Confinement went in to be clipped and chipped.  He is, once AGAIN, confined for 2 weeks so he will heal correctly.  I just don't remember having to confine my other male pups for any length of time after neutering.  Times have changed, I guess.  To say he's ticked, confused and chomping at the bit is putting it mildly.  Poor fella.  His personality is bound to be warped by all this restraint and his inability to just be a frisky, naughty, normal puppy.  I'm sure he'll make up for lost time when the new prison sentence is up.  He did after the 10 weeks of apres-surgery on his leg.

Today I scratched the need-to-clean-and-purge itch and tackled several fronts.  I tore through the clothes in my closet with a vengeance!  When it comes to clothes, especially my massive tee shirt collection, I'm loathed to let go of anything.  At least once a year I stick my toe into the tee-shirt-purge effort and toss a few.  Today I got serious!  I also ripped through all the DVDs, VHS and game cases in both boys' rooms.  I tossed all the cases that had no corresponding game/movie and organized them neatly.  No, I didn't alphabetize them or anything crazy like that.  I'm hardly THAT OCD!!  LOL!  Besides, the boys would destroy those efforts in one fell swoop!

One major job left....the garage.  The crown jewel of purging this summer!  I had thought the attic would win that title, but I've change my mind.  It's the garage, by far.  I'm already salivating and I can't even begin until late next week.  Bulky trash pickup is a week from next Wed.    I've already added a few additional jobs to the to-do list, however:  clean all the wooden blinds and shutters in the house.  Also, clean all the fan blades in the ceiling fans.

And, on my breaks--read!!  I'm over halfway through KINGS OF THE EARTH.

Behind Bars and NOT liking it!!

                                                                          FREE ME!!!

Mr. Spanky, the not-so-patient patient,  is chaffing at the bit to be freed from his enforced confinement!  About 5 more weeks is what I estimate before the x-ray that will determine if his sentence will be commuted.  The surgery for his broken leg after being trampled (accidentally) by his canine sibs went well and this past Monday he was happy to be able to get his bandage and that annoying halo off!! 

The accident happened when he was trying to come in the patio door and the other two dogs were racing out said door.  It was canine chaos that resulted in howls of pain!  I had just come home after school and hadn't even set my purse down.

We raced off to the vet suspecting the little leg was broken.  Alas, not only was it broken, it required orthopedic surgery by a specialist vet that cost a fortune!  He was able to come home on my birthday, April 13.  Best gift I could have asked for! 

For two weeks he endured the misery of the bandage and the
obnoxious halo.  (He says, "Yeah, I may look cute but this thing sucks!!)  The pain meds helped....  He learned to maneuver that bandage like a pro, but, in spite of the halo, he often tried to take a chunk out of that leg!


At first he was fairly docile about not moving around too much on the healing leg, post bandage.  Now, however, he is so ready to rumble that I've had to even switch indoor fencing to keep him contained to the small area required for proper healing.  He also has a similar enclosure outside -- his outhouse, so to speak. 

He wants to run free, chase and tumble with Smokey and Mac.  He wants to resume terrorizing poor Mac who was his "live" chew toy.  Mac has been enjoying having Spanky behind bars, needless to say. 

Spanky has been more vocal toward Smokey, who, I'm sure was the primary culprit in the broken leg, being the heavier dog to run over him.  Something tells me Mr. Spanky is plotting his revenge when he is finally sprung.  Smokey beware....

It's been four weeks since the accident.  Spanky is doing great in spite of being bored and antsy and ready to join the fray again.  By June he should be back in action and doing what puppies do when not behind bars!

  Don't Fence Me In!!!