Just another day in the garden of remembering times present

Did Dad put down rat poison in the garden yesterday and leave the gate open so Max could eat it, or didn’t he?  That is the question.

I went for our usual walk yesterday morning with Max, up to Rock Street his new favourite route.  We arrived back happily enough and I gave him a shaker of milk made from milk powder, shaken and poured into his scraps bowl.  So far, so good….

Out of the blue Dad comes into the house and says he thinks he scattered some poison pellets in the garden and forgot to close the gate.  Suddenly they are gone!  Only Max could have taken them.  Mice are not active during the day and it usually takes a week for the pellets to disappear.

Mum looked miserable. She wants a Sillky Terrier like Truffles again.  Dad was in panic mode.  I was adamant.  We have to take him to the Vet.  Crisis talks intervened and off we went in the car with Max in the back seat.

The vets were lovely, and gave Max some drops to make him bring up his food.  By the time we had discovered the supposed incident, he had already had his lunch.   Any pellets would have left his stomach long ago.

Still, after seemingly ages, Max had not changed, nor had he shown us his stomach contents.  We had walked up and down the nature strip outside the vet’s and waited for a long time, to no avail.

He had three sets of medicines, but nothing happened except he quieted down a lot. Great! It was time for the explanation of terrible things that happen to animals who eat poison pellets.  The cure takes four weeks.

We checked Max out of the vet’s and I went next door to the chemist for activated charcoal.  Apparently dogs and children are treated much the same way for this and the charcoal helps to absorb anything poisonous.

Vitamin K was mentioned, and a blood test that can indicate how the treatment is going.  It was all part of the four week long treatment plan.

Back at home Mum rang another vet where we had once taken another of our dogs a few years ago.  They had some of the Vitamin K to hand and could give Max an injection.  That was a relief.  We bundled him up and he had a shot from that vet.  We were also given some tablets to continue with th vitamin K after the charcoal had taken effect.

At home, we gave him six charcoal tables every forty minutes with some meaty jelly that we had in the fridge from a couple of nights ago.

It was such a dramatic day.  Max started feeling better after a couple of hours and was his usual cheerful self.  Mum and Dad were going over everything that had happened that morning and decided that Dad might not have set the poison pellets, after all.  He thought that he had seen pigeons by the shed and gone off to shoo them away, leaving the box of pellets on a tall shelf in the garden.

I was tired out from arguing with them.  They thought the first vet had fixed Max and did not understand the concept of a four week treatment plan for an animal.  I went to bed.  We had given Max 52 of the 60 activated charcoal tablets.

The next morning Mum was happy to tell me that there was no way that Dad could have scattered the pellets.  He had chased the pigeons and left the box on a shelf.  Max would be fine.  Mmmmm…..

He rang the second vet to ask if we could return the unopened pack of vitamin K tablets.  The vet agreed to accept them back.

In the meantime, I will keep an eye on Max to see whether he is OK.  At present, he just looks tired out after all the fuss, like me.

Sunday breakfast is scones with jam and cream

At our place, Sunday breakfast is often made fresh.  We have coffee and scones with jam and cream.  The jam is japoticaba from the tree in our garden.  I love the japoticaba tree because the fruit attaches at the trunk and branches.  It is very unusual.

This morning was no exception.  We were very happily tucking in to scones and coffee earlier on.  It took a long time to perfect the recipe, but now it is just brilliant.

We listen to “Macca on a Sunday Morning” on the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) channel.  He is usually talking with people on the telephone about the weather and local lobby groups.  It is interesting to hear about what is going on around the country.  Sometimes people call just for the sake of being heard by their friends, I am sure.  Maybe I should try that too, and see if anyone I know actually listens to it.

Dad was out earlier, taking Max for a walk.  I have not been out with Max all week, as I am up writing my thesis as early as I can without disturbing the household.  Half-way through a scone, he mentioned that someone had left a pair of sandshoes by the park rubbish bin.  People have left crutches there in the past, so I was not surprised.  Actually, Dad picked them up and brought them home.  They are about the right size for Mum.  I’m not sure if she would wear black shoes with lime green soles, but why not?  She certainly loves to recycle and often says that her knee replacement makes her leg feel very heavy.  This might be the hint that she needs to walk two blocks down to the park and back each day.

That was a surprise!  Going out for a walk and coming back with shoes!  As we live opposite a school oval, it is not unusual for people to leave behind things that they don’t really like.  Sometimes we take school hats to the upper oval so that they can be found in the lunch hour.  The park is used by boy scouts, as they have a hall at the back of it, even though the park is quite small.

It turned out to be quite an eventful breakfast, after all.  As if japoticaba jam wasn’t enough of a thrill!

 

 

 

Volunteering under way

Currently I am investigating volunteering opportunities with organisations for which I would like to work.  Surprisingly, not many responded to my e-mail requests, except one in which I am already involved.

Along the way, I found another organisation which runs conventions, so I am now volunteer in a local education and technology conference coming up early in June.  It is actually quite exciting, as I will meet a new industry of people, since it is normally fitness industry volunteering.

My positive response came from the national body of a group where I take part at the local level.  The good thing about them is that the executive committee people respond within 24 hours when I have an enquiry.  It is very impressive.

Yesterday, when I was up two hours earlier than usual, I received an e-mail which had me on the short list for being sent to Finland at the end of June.  I was in awe of these people.  They are the international group and I am volunteering for the national group.  It makes sense to offer something when I really do receive so much positive reinforcement and space to grow in return.

In the long run, this fits with my aim to complete a PhD.  It will be an exercise in writing my job description.  So I may as well start working with the industries which have previously been my escape from the world of paid employment.

Ultimately, I will hope to blend the two – the jobs I can do with wages and the ones I also do to stay on a more even keel, even if I am just paid petrol and lunch money.  This will be the theme for the next three to four years, so I may as well start doing something about it.

At least the family dog will be happy.  Being able to organise my day usually starts with our morning run, lots of doggy pep talk from the dog, wagging tails, happy bounds, dragging me up hills and down dales and of course having doggy time for him to roll in the dewy grass.  Oh, what bliss!!!!