3 Down; 1 To Go

So my husband is in England for another week.  He has already been gone for three weeks. He's working as an intern at Great Dixter gardens, in southern England. I don't normally share on social media when he (or we) are gone, because it's just not smart.  He was gone quite a lot this summer, but I don't generally like to mention it for security reasons.  I've asked him more times than I can count if he would refrain from posting on social media until he returns.  As he prefers to live update his friends and strangers to every detail of his travel on multiple forms of social media rather than waiting until he returns, there's really no point in me not mentioning it here.  I'm not thrilled with his decision to make this trip (he is very aware of this), but he chose to do it, and I have no choice but to accept it.

Needless to say, since my life is over scheduled already, inheriting his chore load makes life nearly unmanageable.  It's quite stressful to say the least.  I'm incredibly grateful to my parents, who have filled in and helped with L's school transportation and other instances where I simply cannot be in two places at one time.  As my body is a giant asshole, it has decided that now is the perfect time to crap out on me and start failing and having issues.  This has slowed me down quite a bit, I know that my stress levels are high and my quality sleep is really low, and that tends to exacerbate any existing conditions.  It's very frustrating that it's doing this when I can least handle it!  It's really my own fault, I guess, because if I could learn to keep my stress levels lower, I probably wouldn't be struggling with health issues.  I am not good at lowering stress.  I've tried biofeedback of various types and meditation and failed miserably at both.  I am the worst meditater in the world and have just given up on trying.  Sleep and meditation continue to elude me--I repeatedly fail to do either effectively.

On the up side, the girls and I have enjoyed lots of spicy food in his absence.  We all love hot chilies, but he can't handle that much spice, so I normally cook to his tolerance level.  His trip coincided with peak Habanero and Scotch Bonnnet season, and I had a bumper crop in the garden this year, so I've been making everything better by adding roasted Habaneros/Scotch Bonnets to our food.  It adds such a rich, smokey flavor.  I processed a ton of them this weekend, cleaning, roasting, dicing, and freezing, so I have a good supply to get me through the winter.  I'm hoping to harvest another big batch next weekend and make some salsa.

Jezebel and I just returned from the vet, where we had to schedule yet another mass removal (Friday).  She is the queen of weird growths on her body and has had several removed.  So far, they haven't been malignant, but each time I find a new growth, it's terrifying, and I can't sleep until I get results. This one is weird, according to the vet.  He's not sure what to make of it, but is leaning towards a gut feeling that it's benign.  I'll take that, as I really need the comfort right now.  Poor Jezi will have stitches again!  **Update:  I started this post over a week ago.  Jezi had her mass removed and it was weird but benign.  So relieved!

Froggie has a suspicious small lump near where his last malignant tumor was removed, but aspiration revealed no cancer cells.  We're watching it carefully, and I'm trying not to obsess about it, but I admit that I'm still quite afraid it's an early malignancy, and there aren't enough cancer cells to show up yet.

Our new puppy will be moving in with us this Friday.  I'm really excited but a little nervous, too.  It's been a long time since I've had a puppy.  Jez was a little over six months old when we adopted her, and she's over ten now.  This pup is only 3.5 months old.  She is full of energy and as sweet as could be.  My family has wanted to adopt a puppy for some time now, but I really feel strongly about adopting senior animals, who are much harder to place than puppies.  This little girl has some special needs and would not be very easy to place, so she seemed to be a good compromise.  The family gets the puppy they wanted, but I don't feel guilty for taking an easy-to-place animal.  Another huge benefit is to Jezebel, who has never had pups but has always been an incredibly maternal, nurturing dog. She cares for all of the animals in our house (real and stuffed) with such tenderness, that I've often felt bad that she didn't get to be a mom.  I think the puppy will make her very happy, and the puppy, being so young and abandoned by her dog mom, will be glad to have another dog mommy to snuggle with.  Breanna is a pit mix, just like Jezebel.

We met Breanna (her foster mom named her) yesterday, and have been missing her since she left.  We will pick her up Friday night and bring her home for good.  Between now and then, I have to get the house put back together (from some construction/repair projects that are wrapping up), puppy-proof for her safety, and work on making some modifications so she can get around easier.  Her back legs didn't form properly, nor did her sphincter muscle, so she has some problems with her back end and mobility.  She is able to walk and run (though it's a decidedly unique gait), but is more prone to slipping, falling, and having her legs give out.  I need to configure the house so she can tear around like a little maniac (she was awesomely high energy yesterday, running around and exploring) without worrying about her injuring herself.

We will have to potty train her, though she may still have issues due to her deformity.  I've ordered some washable diapers for her.  I hope she is able to not have to wear them for long, or at least not full time, but I don't know how that will play out in the future.  We will figure it out together.  It will be quite an adventure, and Friday feels way too far away.