Serendipity!

Scene One: Saturday before last, I was walking in Lick Creek with my Giant Puppy, Suki, and my friend Laurie and her smaller, but very solid dog Smorfi. Suki and Smorfi had hung back to sniff something as Laurie and I continued down the path, and then came running full tilt to pass us. Only, Giant Puppy is still a bit clumsy, and ran all 110 pounds of herself, at a full run, smack into the backs of my knees. She kept going, but I lost my balance, twisted sideways, and fell onto my butt on the side of the path. I was fine, but I had twisted my ankle a bit in going down. It swelled up that night, was sore but better the next day. Over the next week and a half, every once in a while I'd do something that would remind me that I'd twisted my ankle.

Scene Two: A week or so ago, I thought of an old friend that I used to hang out with when I was finishing my first undergraduate degree at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. This would have been 1988-89. I could not remember her name, but I wondered what had ever happened to her.

Scene Three: Yesterday, Husband and I were enjoying the lovely weather with a little break at Starbuck's, sitting outside. The dry spell had broken, we'd had some rain, and now it was clear and pleasant temperature. Between the weather change and my wearing boots I had not worn in a couple of weeks, my ankle was talking to me again. I mentioned this, and he said, well, let's go get it looked at and make sure it doesn't have a stress fracture or anything. He called our primary doc, whose voicemail told us he was out of the office attending to an emergency. I called my chiropractor, who can xray and treat the ankle, but was unsure if my insurance would cover it. So we decided that the most expedient way to get it looked at, and paid for by insurance, was to go to the Emergency Room. We'd had a really good experience with The Daughter at the newest hospital in our area, The Physician's Centre, which is also doctor-owned. It's a bit off the beaten path, and is quite small, so we figured their ER would be the best choice, and the least busy. We finished our errands, went home and had a bite to eat, ran another errand, and headed to the PC's ER.

Scene Four: The attending nurse buzzed us into the tiny ER, took one look at me and said, "You look very very familiar to me. [pause] Sam Houston. And Houston." and I took one look at her and said, "Oh my God. Laura. Laura Peacock!" This was the very friend from SHSU I'd been thinking of a week or so ago. Turns out she's been an RN for 11 years and has lived in the area for 17 years, and somehow we had *never* run into each other!

I told her I'd thought of her just a week or so ago, couldn't think of her name, but as soon as I looked at her the name came to me.

She told me that a week or so ago, she was going through some stuff and found a book I'd given her when she got her first puppy, a black lab named Hassan. I'd inscribed the book, so she looked at it and thought, "Huh. I wonder what ever happened to Gigi?"

And I said, "Well, that must have been why I was thinking of you, because you found that book and thought of me!"

How's THAT for serendipity!?!

Oh, my ankle? It's fine. The xrays didn't show any fractures, the range of motion is good, the pain is minimal. The doc said there is a little ligament that runs from *here* to *here* (the exact two spots that hurt) and it is the most commonly torn or pulled thing when people twist their ankles. So he told me to take ibuprofen and gave me an aircast to compress it, and told me to stay off it for three days, no long dog walks or whatnot. And still hurting after a week and a half is normal, strains take 4-6 weeks to completely heal. So no worries!

Ouch...

So yesterday afternoon, my next door neighbor called to ask me to feed her woofies while they are out of town this weekend. I was, of course, more than happy to do so. They have Roscoe the Border Collie and Shipley the (pit) Bulldog. (Think you know what a Pit Bull looks like? Try this quiz and be educated.) They are both unneutered and are backyard dogs, so they are very friendly and sweet but just totally hyper.

I took Suki for a walk in the heat around 4pm. I planned to come back, feed the boys, and head out to do a couple of errands on my way to Downtown Bryan for Art Step.

I have just thrown food over the fence to them before, but this time, Donna had told me where their bowls were, so I thought I'd feed them the way the family does. As I went in the gate, Shipley was trying to get out of it. I managed to hold him back, but Roscoe escaped. I wasn't too worried, he's the collie, so I figured he'd come back when he heard the food being poured. I got their bowls and despite my best efforts, Shipley managed to get past me this time as I went out the gate to get the food. *sigh*.

I banged the bowls together and hollered for them, filled the bowls & went into the backyard to put them down. Sure enough, both dogs came tearing back into the yard. But now they were between me and the open gate. Dang. They dithered a moment, "Food? Freedom? Food? Freedom?" and then high tailed it out the gate. *sigh*.

I put the food up on a table so they wouldn't be able to get it right away if they came back. I walked out & couldn't see them, so I went to my house and got Suki's leash (boy, was she confused!), and started walking the way I'd seen them head off. A gal came around the corner and said she'd seen them go out of the neighborhood, across the park, down the street and onto a side street. *sigh*. She had tried to stop them but couldn't get to them in time.

I went back, got my purse, got in the truck, and started to drive around looking for them. I passed the other gal who was doing the same thing, and we just raised our hands at each other in a gesture of "I have no idea?!!"

Finally I rounded a corner, and there was a guy who had just put them in the back of his truck to take them to the shelter. I asked him to follow me back, so he did, and I went into the yard with the dogs, gave the guy back his leash, thanked him profusely, and off he went.

I put the food down for the boys, but they were way too hot/thirsty/excited/spun up to even think about eating at that moment. They had plenty of water and whatnot, so I figured my work was done, and went to leave. And since the food was no distraction for them, Shipley tried to get out again. I was not *about* to let that happen! I grabbed his collar and scruff with my wussy-grip hands, pinned him with my body and did everything I could to get him back in the gate.

He would stand up, but as soon as I got him partway in the gate, he'd hunker down and refuse to go in. Every time I got him through the gate, he would manage to get between it before I could close it. This wrestling match went on for a good ten minutes. I was sweating, and grunting, and cursing, and panting. I refused to let go of the freaking dog, but it literally took every ounce of strength I had. I was quite literally roaring with effort and frustration. Meanwhile, I think Roscoe went in and out of the gate probably three times, LOL.

With a last burst of complete adrenaline-fueled effort, I managed to ROLL the dog through the gate so that he was on his back or side, and the second it took him to get up was enough time to get the gate shut. I stood up, covered in dirt and sweat and slobber and red-faced equally from the heat and the frustration. I was breathing so hard that I was practically hyperventilating, and I started to cry. I got the keys out of my truck, went into the house, sat down and cried hysterically for about ten more minutes.

Then, I went upstairs, took a COLD shower, changed clothes, and headed out to Art Step, finally. So much for the errands I meant to do on the way - the places were closed by now. Oh well, nothing I can't do on Monday!

So, all is well now, but you can BET that I threw their food over the fence today!! And I am so sore that I can barely move, and it hasn't even been 24 hours yet. Scare. So much for the massage and chiropractic adjustment I got yesterday morning!! *sigh*!

And so much for the productive Saturday I meant to have. I started this post about three hours ago. It's 2:30 in the afternoon and I am still sitting here at the computer in my pajamas... Eek! So, off to do housey things! Enjoy the new blog!