April 2012 Archives

The dog had a crazy day, getting neutered and having four dewclaws removed at the same time. They were just dangling there and didn't seem to be attached. The dewclaws I mean. He came home from the vet with striped green socks on.

The stitches in his crotch don't bother him nearly as much as the bandages on his feet. Sometimes he has to wear the cone of shame. We're not supposed to let the bandages get wet, either from licking or from water outside. Anne has been good about wrapping his feet in sandwich baggies with rubber bands when going for a walk:

I took him for a walk (without baggies) and one of the neighbors said, "Ah... now I see. you had his claws removed? I thought maybe he just didn't like getting his feet wet?"

So: (a) its surprising how many people don't know about dewclaws, and (b) that someone would think its normal to remove all a dog's claws, and (c) what kind of dog cares about its feet getting wet!?

Took a short trip to Vancouver, B.C. for a meeting of the American Registry for Internet Numbers. I flew from Moscow to Seattle to Portland to Vancouver, instead of waiting longer in Seattle and arriving an hour later. Descending into Vancouver at night I couldn't help but notice what seemed to be a large lighted area on nearby mountains. I assumed it was some kind of ski area, perhaps even the place where ski jumpers trained.

As it turns out, we all got to go there the next evening. The meeting sponsor arranged for a social event at Grouse Mountain. The mountain is serviced by two large gondolas which take you to the lodge and base of the ski hill. I was a little surprised to see people still skiing and boarding this late.

In addition to a nice buffet dinner, we were also entertained by the lovely barn owl below, and some "lumberjacks" playing with axes and chainsaws.

There was a very nice sunset, but no where to stand that didn't include the gondola wires in the shot.

I brought my tripod along, eager to see if I could get a nice picture of the city from up high. It was a little difficult due to the trees near the lodge.

Can you see the yellow things in the lower right corner? Those are apparently large piles of sulfur waiting to be shipped out.

There were no events planned for Tuesday, so I convinced my colleagues Jacques and Casey that we should go get some pizza. We asked the Internet for a recommendation and ended up at a great quirky place nearby.

We've been going to the local putt-putt course for a few years. They also have a driving range, which caught Colin's interest. Recently I'd been bringing my old clubs to hit a few. This weekend I happened to ask if they had any used kids clubs for sale, and they did!

If we're lucky we can get two years out of them, but that seems unlikely given current rates of growth.

Shortly after getting the new clubs, Grandpa Roy was in town so we all went to the driving range. It was great because Grandpa gives much better golf instruction than I do. Here he is showing how its done.

Our dear Grandma Katie passed away shortly after her 80th birthday, and only a few weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.

One of my favorite memories of Katie is the trip we all took to visit Uncle Jim in the Netherlands. We all used a British Airways promotion that gave us a free night in London, before flying to Amsterdam. We had only a few hours to explore London, and since I'm a big cheap-skate, we took the subway and did a lot of walking to see the sights. We saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, and probably some other places I can't remember. Katie was a real trooper, but Anne had to remind me that she needed a break from all the walking. The next day we flew to Amsterdam and did even more walking. Fortunately, the remainder of the trip mostly involved driving.

Katie was determined to live in her house as long as she possibly could. Certainly the old house on Perth Street was more than she could handle by herself, but with help from family and neighbors she managed. The neighborhood changed a lot since its glory days when the McCarthy kids roamed the street, but it was clear that Katie loved her neighbors and vice versa. I think that's really why she wanted to stay. A number of them said that she was the "glue" of the neighborhood, which will never be the same without her.

The three of us traveled to Toledo for Katie's memorial mass. Anne had been there only a week before to celebrate her birthday and help with her care. I found the note below stuck to Katie's bedroom mirror, which made me more than a little verklemmt.

This note is "classic Anne." She, more than anyone, knows how something as simple as a handwritten note makes people feel special. Thank you Grandma Katie for raising such a wonderful daughter that I'm lucky enough to call My Lovely Wife.

P.S.: You should also read My Mom's note about Katie, which is much better than mine.