I just wanted to let you know that R's surgery was fine and she is resting in the hospital overnight. The surgery was about 3 1/2 hours late, which was lame, but I guess that's how it goes. She looked very cute in the hospital gown and those mesh bootie things. I'm going to go spring her in the morning. 
It snowed this weekend. It snowed and snowed and then snowed some more. Last night R looked out the window and said, "Holy crap, it's still snowing." Now it has stopped, but we probably got 8-10 inches in 2 days.
This picture is of me trying to clear all of the snow off of my little Subaru with a broom. It took about 15 minutes to clear it all off, and then I had to shovel under and around the car. Thank goodness, R's dad came over with the snowblower to help us out, or I'd probably still be out there shoveling. Nobody plowed our parking lot at work, so it was a bit hairy trying to park this morning. I'm parked in 8 inches of snow, so I hope I can get out this afternoon.
R's surgery is tomorrow morning. She'll be in the hospital probably overnight. I'll let you know as soon as I can how it went. Have a good week!
R's surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday the 28th. She will be in the hospital overnight and will come home on Wednesday. The surgery will be done laproscopically, and she's healthy has and not had much pain for the last week. The recovery should be reasonably quick. I think I may sneak out to the store tonight and buy her some little games and magazines and silly things to do while she's recouperating.
Anyway, be thinking of us next Tuesday.
ice and wind and flooded rivers– for 1000 miles
This is a picture from the Yukon Quest international sled dog race, which began last Saturday in Fairbanks. The race runs from Fairbanks, to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. It is 1,000 miles long– shorter than the better-known Iditarod, but generally considered to be tougher. (Colder, scarier, fewer people, and much longer distances between checkpoints.) There were 22 entrants at the beginning, but as of right now only 13 are still in it. 5 needed to be rescued from a summit by helicopter after spending the night lost in the cold with 100 mph winds. With all of their dogs, no less.
None of that danger was apparent at the start last week, though. It was about 30 degrees out, and there were hundreds of people lined up along the frozen Chena River to watch. Barring any other mishaps, the winners should cross the finish line in Whitehorse sometime next week.
Sooooooooo. Things have been a wee bit crazy and I have spent most of my time just keeping up, rather than writing about it all. I am stealing some time during my lunch break today (I have 5 min left) to fill you in, though.
I took R to the ER last Monday because she was having pretty serious chest pains and shortness of breath. Wouldn't you know it, one chest x-ray, one EKG and one ultrasound later (lord, the money), it was her gallbladder. She'll need to have it removed soon, but for right now the surgeon is out of town and she is just waiting for a consultation. She's been feeling better since the ER visit last week, but eating pretty much anything gives her terrible stomach cramps and general, blegh. She wants to wait until our spring break for the surgery, but I think sooner is definitely better than later.
Sorry to write about health problems– that always makes me feel like one of those old ladies from my parents' church. "Oh, my lumbago! My sciatica! My gallstones!" I will give you an update on surgery and whatnot as soon as I know what's going to happen.
As a reward for reading this far, I will direct you to the Gallery of Unfortunate Valentine Cards. They are hilarious and totally worth your time. I reread them every year, in fact.
