This Writer’s Life

The pupdate: Nuala’s ACL saga continues

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

When I first mentioned Nuala’s troubles, I indicated that if she didn’t improve over the holidays, that she’d be going in to Lockerby Animal Hospital for a full assessment.

This happened last Thursday, January 3, 2013.

The snow-nosian pupPhil and I took Nuala into the veterinarian in the morning and would pick her up after work.  During the day, she would be lightly sedated, a proper assessment of the ACL injury performed, and then some x-rays taken t see if any subsequent joint damage occurred.

As an unexpected bonus, they also trimmed Nu’s nails and scraped the tartar back on her teeth 🙂  due to the injury, we decided not to take her in for her regular grooming (we call it her spa day).  I’m recommitting to a regular dental care regime for my girl now.

After work, we met with Dr. Wilkinson with no little bit of trepidation.  Upon our last visit, Chad had said that if Nu needed surgery, that she’d likely have to go to Ottawa.  This presented problems for Phil and I because we don’t have the leave to take a week off and see Nu to her surgery.  Further, Nu doesn’t travel well and a six-hour car ride on either side of surgery would be untenable.

The verdict now: Nu’s ACL is indeed ruptured.  Chad figured it occurred over the holidays because her symptoms were much more pronounced now than they were before.

Surprisingly, the x-rays revealed that Nu’s hips were just fine 🙂

Phil and I explained our issues with traveling to Ottawa, and Chad provided a local solution, one Dr. Hoscheit, but time was of the essence, as the good doctor would be leaving his practice at the end of February.

Referral in hand, we hurried home and discussed how we would proceed.

On Friday, Phil made the call to Dr. Hoscheit and we waited for an appointment.  At 9:30 am on Saturday, the call came and we could be fit in at 12:20 for an initial consult.  We’d have to act quickly, as Dr. Hoscheit prefers to see a patient post-surgically for up to 2 months after.

At the appointment, Dr. Hoscheit made his own assessment of Nu, and afterward discussed options.  One of the procedures, a TTA, or tibial tuberosity advancement, was a possibility, but Dr. Hoscheit recommended a tightrope procedure instead.  He said that for a dog of Nu’s size and age, that the procedure had the potential to be much more successful than a TTA.

He would be able to proceed as soon as he ordered more tightrope material.  He hadn’t anticipated being able to complete another procedure before leaving the practice.

In the meantime, Phil will have to get the x-rays from Dr. Wilkinson as well as Nu’s blood test results, and bring Nu in for a pre-surgical blood test on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town and this will all be on Phil.  Fortunately, my mom has agreed to pick up the x-rays and lab results so that Phil will just have to come home, pick up Nu, and get her to Dr. Hoscheit’s in time for her 6:45 appointment.

So that’s how things are looking for the moment.

I think it’s a much more positive situation than we had expected and so both Phil and I are happy, relatively speaking.  We’re very grateful that the doctor has agreed to fit us in before his departure.

So that, for now, is the pupdate.

I <3 my blog: the beginning

/ Melanie Marttila / 10 Comments

I’ve enjoyed Khara House’s challenges before.  Her October submit-o-rama was a hit 🙂

Khara HouseKhara’s really good at sussing out what her community might need and delivering it while playing to her strengths.

January is I ❤ my blog month and it’s not going to be a challenge in which everyone is dashing helter skelter to get a bunch of stuff done.  It’s going to be a gentle, thoughtful reintroduction to your blog and the reasons you started it in the first place.  It’s meant to reignite your passion for your blog and get you back on track.

I first met Khara in Robert Lee Brewer’s April Platform challenge and that was a task-a-day, whip your butt into shape kind of challenge.  A lot of us struggled to keep up, but Khara was way out in the leader-pack, showing the way.

So I’m back.

The “assignment” for week one was about developing a blogging schedule.  Now I had one.  When I started off, I was posting 6 days a week, then I dropped to five, then four … you get the idea.  In September, I hit the burnout phase.  I was trying to do too many different things and I just couldn’t keep up with the posting on a regular basis anymore.  It felt like a chore.

So I deleted my blogging schedule page and defaulted to posting when I wanted to/had the time/had something to say.  Sometimes that was several times in the course of a week.  Sometimes it wasn’t at all.

So now, in addition to being back with a Khara House challenge, my blogging schedule will be back.

It’s going to be basic.  Something I can manage given working and writing and critiquing (which I’m getting back to shortly).  What I’ve hit on, is a weekend blog-for-all 🙂

Lemme ‘splain: I figure that blogging once a week will fit into my schedule and if nothing else, I’ll post on Saturdays.  But … if it’s been a particularly inspirational week, I’m going to blog on Sundays too, and if a whole lot is happening, I might blog more than once a day.

So it’s a bloggin’ free-for-all, or a weekend blog-for-all.

Hope you like it, ‘cause it’s what you’re gonna get!

What a lovely way to start the New Year!

/ Melanie Marttila / 7 Comments

sunshineawardHey y’all!  Jay Morris of The Wayward Journey nominated Writerly Goodness for the Sunshine Award 🙂  As Jay says in his post, it was the result one of his resolutions: to encourage other bloggers and foster community online.  I think that’s a worthy goal.

First, thanks!  It’s nice to be recognized by your fellow bloggers.

Second, here are the rules:

  1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
  2. Post the award image to your page.
  3. Tell seven facts about yourself.
  4. Nominate 10 other blogs.
  5. Let them know they are nominated.

Numbers 1 and 2 are already taken care of, so without further ado, here are seven facts about me:

  1. I’m a writing geek (really?).  That is, I love words, grammar (yes, grammar), and the whole shebang.  I get excited when I write; I don’t even have to be writing particularly well.  Writing is my friend, therapist, and spiritual practice rolled into one.
  2. I’ve been married for eighteen and a half years to a wonderful man.  Phil’s my BFF, inspirator (conspirator in inspiration), and makes me laugh my hoop off at least once a day.  Yup.  I’m hoopless 😀
  3. I haven’t taken down the Christmas decorations yet, in violation of the standing practice to pack them away January 1st.  Maybe I’ll get to it by Ukrainian Christmas?  Sadly doubtful.  Before the end of January though, for sure.
  4. I need to know the rules, but often, once I’ve figured them out, I find my own way forward.
  5. I think my Mom is a “cool mom.”
  6. I’m terrible at traditional correspondence.  I have a friend who, without fail, sends birthday, anniversary, occasional, and sometimes just-for-the-heck-of-it cards.  I always get a postcard from her on every vacation.  I admire, and secretly envy, this friend 🙂
  7. After work, I transform into “comfort woman.” She’s a strange creature, who wears flannel and sits at her computer all night … writing, yeah, that’s it … writing.

Now, here are my ma-nominations (doo-doo-da-doo-doo!).  Yes, I’m a Muppet maniac 🙂

  1. Laura Conant Howard – Finding Bliss  Fantastic site with all kinds of interviews and book features.  Her new book, The Forgotten Ones, is coming out soon!  Also follow Laura on FB and Twitter.  She will often share when good books are on special – bonus!
  2. Khara House – Our Lost Jungle  Khara is fabulous, and so is her site.  She has led several great challenges over the past year that have kept me motivated.  Her current: I ❤ my blog.  Yup.  I’m in it.
  3. Karen Woodward  Karen is a prolific blogger and has a variety of good advice to offer.
  4. Kim Fahner – The Republic of Poetry  Kim is a poet and a teacher, and waxes lyrical on many topics.  Just love her 🙂
  5. Vikki Thompson – The View Outside  Vikki invites us to follow along on her writing journey.  There’s always something interesting going on at The View Outside 🙂
  6. Sarah Rios – Riosfan  Sarah is hilarious!  Become her minion on G+ too and get all the fangrrl goods 🙂
  7. Lara Britt – Writing Space  Lara is a working writer in Hawaii.  What a wonderful place to be 🙂
  8. Claudia Karabaic Sargent – CKSWarriorQueen  Another one of my Wordsmith Studio connections (as are Lara B, Lara S, and Khara).
  9. Lara Schiffbauer – Motivation for Creation  Her Funny Friday Photos are always a hoot and I love feeding her fish 🙂  Also, check out her book Finding Meara.
  10. Brian Braden  Brian’s WIP, Black Sea Gods is moving toward publication.  He’s been supportive of my project and I just want to return the favour 🙂

There were a lot of blogs that I wanted to feature.  If yours isn’t in here, I mean no disrespect.

TTFN blogging buds 🙂

I’ll be back tomorrow with I ❤ my blog, and the Pupdate 🙂

Resolve not to resolve

/ Melanie Marttila / 5 Comments

(A.K.A. Just make reasonable goals and reach them!)

New Years Resolutions (1/52)

New Years Resolutions (1/52) (Photo credit: lucidtech)

This is the time of year when everyone starts off fresh and hopeful and makes a bunch of promises to themselves without first considering whether they really want to keep them or not.

My advice is to take a step back and give this whole resolution thing some careful consideration.

First, try not to get caught up in the whole resolution furor and just make SMART (more on this in a bit) goals that you can actually achieve.

Review these goals periodically and change them if you need to.

That’s what irks me about resolutions.  For many, they hold the impression of being set in stone.  As human beings, we change, so will our goals.  Be flexible and make adjustments where necessary.  Shit happens.  Put another way, life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

If you abandon your expensive gym membership after three months and fail to lose twenty pounds by June, then, like as not, either the goal you set for yourself was unrealistic, or something happened to make the goal unrealistic to pursue in the way you first imagined.

I set goals all the time, sometimes they change and sometimes they don’t work out the way I planned.  So I change course, adjust my expectations, and set more goals.  Goals are healthy and shouldn’t just be reserved for January 1.

This year, resolve not to resolve 🙂

Step one: think about it

The first step, as always, is to give your goals some consideration.  Do you really want to achieve them?  Are you setting a goal because of external factors?

Take the “lose twenty pounds by June 1st” goal, something a lot of people list in their resolutions, sometimes every year.  Are you truly invested in making this happen?  Are you only doing it because your stepsister called you fat at Christmas dinner?  Are you happy at what others might consider twenty pounds overweight?  Do you feel healthy?  Do you otherwise conduct yourself in a healthy manner?

Once you’ve determined whether you really want to do this, think about ways that you might be able to make this happen, and how you can make the goal easier to achieve.

An expensive gym membership may not be the best choice given your circumstances.

It might be better to enlist your friends and family in the project, get a support system gathered around you.  Often, when you put your goals “out there” in concrete form, that is, you tell people what you want to do and why, it’s less acceptable to renege on the deal.

In this case, you can tell your family that you want to begin to eat healthier and get their support (yes, Mom, we’ll eat fish three times a week with you and we’ll try soy if we can have a day off on the weekend to indulge our collective red meat/fat/sweet cravings).  Tell your friends to help you make wise choices at the restaurant without making you feel bad in the process.  Tell your mom that while you think her roast of beef with Yorkshire pudding is drool-worthy, that this year you might want to try some Cornish hens and green veggies for your birthday dinner instead.  It’s the little things that add up to goals achieved over time.

Is there something that you can buy that’s not expensive and will still facilitate your achievement of your goal?  For example, maybe you know that a full, sweaty workout is not for you, but that you could commit to walking every day.  So buy yourself some properly-fitted walking shoes, maybe some clothes that will make walking in inclement weather less unpleasant.  Perhaps you could buy yourself a simple journal to diarize your eating habits and emotional responses to food.

Recognize when you start seeing or feeling results and give yourself a reward.  Maybe by March, with your reasonable eating and exercise plan, you’ve lost eight to ten pounds.  Celebrate by getting some clothes in a smaller size.

Think that you feel pumped enough to up your game?  Maybe now’s the time to buy a well-fitted pair of running shoes and see when the members of the local Running Room are starting their next beginners class.  Save the marathon for next year.  There are always more goals you can set in your future.  Leave room for them, work up to them gradually.

Setting and achieving goals is a continual process, not a “Ding! I win!” moment.  If you’re not invested in the goal, if the wish to attain it does not come from within, and if you fail to plan for success, then, as the saying goes, you’ve only planned to fail.  Then again, planning the hell out of something can be overrated …

Back to that SMART thing

Smart goals

Smart goals (Photo credit: shaggy359)

So SMART is an acronym which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.  While the acronym is drawn from project and time management in a business context, it can be applied to personal projects as well.

I’ll let you explore making SMART goals on your own, if you’re so inclined.  Just Google it, and you’ll see how much is out there.

Some people benefit from a well-structured approach.  Some people don’t.  This is why the thinking part comes first.  You have to know yourself well enough to know what approach you’ll respond best to.

Advice from better minds than mine

Dean Wesley Smith wrote an excellent series on goal-setting in writing over November and December:

Here’s the ever-amusing but always on-target, Chuck Wendig’s ruminations on the topic:

Writer’s Digest has a few thoughts on the topic as well.

Finally, for those whose 2013 includes a new novel:

If you follow any blogs whatsoever, you will find lots of advice on goal-setting.  Research is a good idea, but always, think about it for a bit.  You don’t want to adopt someone else’s methods or techniques blindly.  That’s one of my biggest takeaways from 2012.

Whether it’s with respect to platform development, writing, blogging, weight loss, or any other aspect of your life, to thine own self be true.

Now … what you’ve all been waiting for … drum roll please …

Mel’s resolutions reasonable and malleable goals

My goals are largely determined by my life circumstances and as my life is quite chaotic right now, my goals need to be adjusted periodically because … well, shit happens.

Personal:

First, I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do 🙂

Though it would be nice to lose some weight, I feel pretty good and I am happy with my overall health, so, though it may be a disappointment to some, I will not be quitting smoking, becoming a workout maniac, or going on some fad diet that will only make me miserable.

What I will do:

  • Walk more (not specific or measurable because any gain in this area will satisfy me).  I used to walk a lot, like 60-75 km per week.  I’d walk Nuala in the morning, walk home from work in the evening, go for longer walks on Saturdays, and hikes in the bush on Sundays.  I even jogged for a few years.  When my dad went in the hospital in 2010, I stopped walking home and started walking to the hospital to visit him after work in stead.  When he was admitted to the Nursing home, I stopped walking so that I could get home and drive out to visit him with my mom.  When he passed away, I really didn’t feel much like walking at all.  Last year, Nuala developed arthritis and now she has an ACL injury and that’s curtailed some of the morning walks.  I do want to start walking more though, and I have purchased a new set of waterproof boots to make the decision to walk home after work in the winter easier, but I’ve found, since I’ve hit 40, that my tolerance for inclement weather has definitely decreased.  I’ve also got a referral from my doctor to get my orthotics updated, so that will also help.
  • Continue to eat sensibly.
  • Start massage therapy.  My colleagues at work rave about this, and I can only hope that it will help me as well.
  • Continue to accept and love myself as I am.
  • Take care of myself, my husband, my mom, and my dog.
  • Be the best friend I can be.

Professionally (day-job):

I’ve recently been advised that my acting assignment will be extended to June, with a further potential extension to September.  So, given that … I aim to:

  • Continue to learn and master the duties of my position.
  • Achieve my training certification.
  • Learn to become as a leaf in the wind.  This is important.  With all the change occurring at work these days, I never know what’s going on and half the time, events are not stable until after they’re already in motion.  Even then, cancellations are possible.  I fully understand my limitations and commit to do the best I can within those restrictions.  That’s all I can promise and I’m good with that.  We’ll see if my manager is good with that too 🙂

Professionally (writing life):

  • Finish my current edit of Initiate of Stone (I’m nearly there, at long last).
  • Send my MS for a professional content edit.
  • Start on a new novel (haven’t decided yet which one).
  • Submit to anthologies and calls for submissions of interest to me throughout the year.
  • Revise IoS given the content edit.
  • Share out to select beta-readers.
  • Submit first three chapters to the agent who indicated her interest at the pitch conference I attended.
  • Submit the entire revised MS to the editor who indicated his interest.
  • Revise based on beta-reader response.
  • Recommit to my online critique group.
  • Continue to read widely on a variety of subjects and across genres.
  • Participate in Khara House’s I ❤ my blog challenge.  I’ve struggled in recent months with consistency on my blog and I think this is just what I need to get me back up and running.
  • Set up a newsletter via mailchimp when my followers reach 100 (I’m at 85 right now).  This will be quarterly to begin with.
  • Consider a redesign of the blog and (gasp) a hosting service.  Yup.  Thinking about it.  Bears more thought however.  Still shy after last February’s hacking bite.
  • Go on a few writing dates.  Trying to negotiate this with a writing friend, but already have the first “big” one set: Susan McMaster poetry workshop in February.  Yay!

And I think that about covers it.  Notice that I don’t have time frames on any of these goals.  Life/chaos/shit happens, remember?  This is a trick I learned from participant-centered training.  An agenda that does not have time limitations allows for flexibility and adjustment on the fly.

A lot of this will be blogged in coming months, so I’ll keep you up to date on my progress.

What goals have you set for the coming year?  If you call them resolutions, I won’t mind, but please, do share!

The best of Writerly Goodness 2012

/ Melanie Marttila

Well, since I only started blogging (in this incarnation) in March, it’s not been a year yet online, but I’ll give you an idea about what I think has been the best of 2012.

Best movie:  Definitely Cloud Atlas.  I don’t know why, but this movie really had me thinking and feeling.  I know that not everyone shares my inclinations, but Cloud Atlas blew me away.

Kim and I will be going to see The Hobbit tomorrow, but I honestly don’t anticipate that it will impress me as much.  I’ll enjoy the heck out of it, but Cloud Atlas affected me …

Best writing book: (A.K.A writing book porn): The Right to Write.  I’ve had the book on my shelf for years and it wasn’t until the Wordsmith Studio Goodreads group chose it that I actually cracked the cover.  I love Julia Cameron’s philosophy even if I am still struggling with morning pages.  Yum.  Yum.  Yum.

Runners up include Larry Brooks’s Story Engineering and Syd Field’s The Screenwriter’s Problem Solver.

Best fiction: The Hunger Games.  When my Mom read it before I did, I figured I better get around to the dear little thing.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Mind you, Larry Brooks’s 11 part analysis of the book was fantastic too, and made me think that I’d have some substantial writerly lessons to learn from it.

Riding Suzanne Collins’s heals are Hugh Howey’s Wool Omnibus and Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest, both of which I’m still reading, so I’m not sure, strictly speaking, that they count (!)

Best non-writing, non-fiction book: The Happiness Project, by Gretchin Rubin.  Again, still reading it, but it does speak to the control freak in me 🙂

Best writerly experience: The New York comes to Niagara pitch conference.  Fraught, yes.  Learning experience, double-yes.

Best local arts event: Hands down has to be the Launch of Kim Fahner’s The Narcoleptic Madonna, though Jon Bulter’s The LaCloche spirit: The equivalent light exhibit and Scott Overton’s launch of his novel Dead Air are close seconds.  Nor can I forget the 100 thousand poets for change event in North Bay.  Poetic road trips are the bestest.

Best posts
These have been selected due to the number of all-time views.

  1. Do you dress for success?
  2. The cadre … or should that be cabal?
  3. Feminist lunacy from Battle Chant
  4. Why did I call this category Alchemy Ink?
  5. Eight metaphors for persistence and why you’ll want to read this anyway – my very first post!  Awww … you guys 🙂
  6. Character sketches, part 2: Eoghan
  7. Character sketches, part 3: Dairragh
  8. Rethinking my online strategy
  9. Why spoilers are good for writers
  10. An Interview with Kim Fahner
hAPPY NEW YEAR

hAPPY NEW YEAR (Photo credit: Helgi Halldórsson/Freddi)

I’ll wait until New Years Day to post on resolutions.  So have a happy New Year all, and thanks a bunch for all of your support!

Virtual hugs!

Writerly Goodness.

God bless us, every one!

/ Melanie Marttila

Just a brief post today to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Two of my favourite ecards:

I kind of love the interactive one and I just can’t resist the dog-y charm of the other 🙂

Tomorrow, I’m going to post on the Next Big Thing project which Kim Fahner has been so kind as to tag me into.

And of course, I’ll continue to post through the end of the year including a top ten kind of post and one about those deadly New Year’s resolutions.

For now, I hope you’re all having a peaceful holiday, full of love.

doctor who christmas special

doctor who christmas special (Photo credit: lism.)

I’m going to enjoy the Doctor Who marathon on Space, culminating in this year’s Christmas special 🙂

 

 

 

 

Have been watching my share of seasonal movies though, A Christmas Carol, Miracle of 34th Street, and the annual The Sound of Music.  The title of this post is taken from the Dickens’ classic.

Scrooge's third visitor, from Charles Dickens:...

Scrooge’s third visitor, from Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. With Illustrations by John Leech. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. First edition. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

‘Tis the season … of change

/ Melanie Marttila / 7 Comments
English: An artificial Christmas tree.

English: An artificial Christmas tree. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This Christmas been a little weird for me.  To give you all context, I’m going to have to give you a before and after perspective.

Before

In past years, my gifts consisted primarily of baked goods.  I’d start in November and bake one batch of cookies every weekend, usually Merry Fruit cookies, Christmas shortbread, and either Viennese crescents and thumbprint cookies, or something more earthy like gingerbread and chocolate chip.  My mom would also put together some Christmas treats: hello dollies, Skor bars, and sugar cookies.

Cookie box

Cookie box (Photo credit: mmatins)

I also made two kinds of dog biscuits for my friends who owned pets: peanut butter and cheese.

These would all be stored in the freezer until it was time to put together the parcels, usually a week or two before Christmas, and the I’d get the plates and tins put together, sign all the cards, and send everything off.

Phil would often make the deliveries for me.  One year, making my own, I surprised one of our friends in his pyjamas 😉

For a few years, I also participated in cookie exchanges and got a greater mix of treats that way.

Decorations would be up the first weekend of December and be taken down January 1st.

My office Christmas party, Phil’s, the office pot-luck, and usually one or two other seasonal events usually crowded into the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Last year, I didn’t bake.  Phil and Mom did, so I was still able to put together small gifts for a few friends. The family decided not to exchange gifts (we’re all adults here).  I didn’t go to either office party and did not participate in a cookie exchange.  Due to a rearrangement of our very small living room, we no longer had room for our Christmas tree.

It was a hint of things to come.

After

This year, I just haven’t caught the Christmas spirit.

With the new acting position and all the travel it’s required, I’ve just been exhausted.  I decided, for the second year in a row, that I would not bake.  This year, neither Phil nor Mom baked cookies either.  We don’t need all that sugar and fat anyway.

The decorations didn’t get put up the first weekend in December and when I got around to it the next weekend, only the garlands for the railings, ceramic tree (our substitute for the big one), and door decorations were hauled out.  No Christmas cups, no Christmas platter, no musical Christmas slippers, and no Christmas music (something I usually play while I’m decorating).

We went to Phil’s office party (left early), but not to mine, and I happened to be absent for the pot-luck, and the BEA (Business Expertise Advisor) hive’s dinner was cancelled due to poor weather.  I made it out to a friend’s house party last night (Christmas Merriment is always that at Shirley’s), but that’s pretty much it.

Christmas dinner is at Mom’s this year, and due to changing life circumstances, Phil and I won’t be having any visitors this year.

The immediate family is buying presents, but we’ve put a limit on it.

It’s a subdued season, but I’ve decided that suits me just fine.

Grinch or Curmudgeon?

Am I being a Grinch, or a curmudgeon because I’m not caught up (for once) in the holiday hype?

I don’t think so.

I’m still celebrating, just not as much as in past years.

What do you think?

Have your Christmas celebrations changed over the years?  Have they grown more elaborate or more sedate?

Do share 🙂

The dog in winter … just because

/ Melanie Marttila / 5 Comments

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, or even if you drop in occasionally, you’ve probably noticed that I write about my dog from time to time.  This is one of those times 🙂

Nu (Nuala) is a quirky beast.  First, she pees like a male dog.  Yes, she lifts her leg.  It’s a learned behaviour adopted from dog-friend Daisy, who in turn learned the skill from her dog-friend Colonel.  This is a particularly useful skill in winter, when snow banks often crowd the sidewalks.  Trust me, it’s better than the embarrassing (for me) pee in the middle of the sidewalk or driveway, which often occurs just when another pedestrian or the homeowner walks up.

She used to climb the banks, but I’ve had to curb that inclination.  More on that in a bit.

Nu also has a couple of behaviours reserved for winter.  She’s a sniffer.  The rest of the year, she walks with her nose to the ground and often finds the most interesting (read disgusting) things on the side of the road.  Used tissues are a favourite, but occasionally she’ll go for the feces of other animals or the leavings of feral cats (bird corpses mostly).  It’s so disappointing when your pet actually behaves like a dog 😛

Her reaction to having these things extracted from her mouth has resulted in one of her many nick-names: Clamps.  Nu will clench her mouth shut, and physically curl her body to prevent either Phil or myself from getting to the offensive bit.  She becomes completely rigid and I’ve often had to lift most of her 80 pound weight to get at whatever tasty she’s found.

The snow-nosian pupWhen the first decent snow falls, though, the sniffing takes on a whole new dimension.  Nu buries her entire face in the snow, snuffling and digging through it in her attempt to find whatever delicious smell has attracted her. She emerges as the snow-nosian pup.  The snow melts pretty quickly, but sometimes we see the abominable (adorable) snow dog.

I walk Nuala using a Halti.  She can haul anyone clear across the driveway when she has a mind to, so it helps to keep her in line without causing strain on her neck.  She hates the thing though, and during the rest of the year, she’ll rub her chin on the ground in an attempt to scratch beneath, or remove the Halti entirely.

In the winter, this behaviour turns into what I like to call her seal impression.  Nu slides on the snow, nose first, clearing a path for the rest of her to follow.  Her front paws fold back (kind of like flippers) and she slides across the snowy yard, wiggling.  She really does look like a seal.

In recent years, Nuala’s had a few minor health situations.  A couple of years ago, she sheared one of her molars in half.  This necessitated a lengthier-than-expected dental surgery that left her disoriented and whining in that particular post-surgical way.  Any of you who have gone through it with your pet will know what I mean.  Stumbling when she tried to walk, and moaning through a clenched and quivering jaw.  It was truly pathetic.

Last year, she developed what we thought was arthritis, and she was started on a regimen of Metacam and Cartrofen which seemed to be working, but this year, after her Cartrofen booster, she started limping more than usual, not less.

She wouldn’t put weight on her right rear leg and when we took her in to the vet last week, the tentative diagnosis was an ACL injury.  Yes, animals get them too, but unlike humans, you can’t tell them the reason why they can’t run around like a yahoo anymore, climb snow banks, and get overly excited over company.

Here are a couple of helpful videos from Vetstoria.  Note: The second one shows the actual surgery and those uncomfortable with graphic medical information should steer clear.

We’re trying to keep her quiet, and ‘easy,’ ‘whoa,’ and ‘no’ have become a large part of our communication these days.  If she doesn’t improve over the holidays, Nu will be admitted to the vet’s for a day where she’ll be sedated and a definitive diagnosis made.  At this point, she’s resisting the manipulation that could potentially reveal the extent of the injury.

Because the ligament is soft tissue, an x-ray won’t show anything about the ACL.  It will show any ancillary damage caused to the bone, however, so that too might be in Nuala’s future.

If the ACL is significantly torn or detached, Nuala’s headed for surgery, either in Ottawa or Guelph, and that’s an issue for us because both Phil and I work and Nu doesn’t travel well, even over short distances.  One or both of us would have to take the time off work, and neither of us has the vacation to accommodate such a trip.

Though expensive, the cost is not the issue with us.  Our last dog, Zoe, had a couple of Zoesurgeries in an attempt to remove the cancer (hemangiosarcoma) that she developed.  The bill was over five thousand and in the end, the cancer had spread and still resulted in her death.  Sad days, those.

Our cat, Thufir, developed diabetes, and we treated him for years with metformin and then insulin before he finally succumbed to complications.  Phil and I believe that pet ownership includes the responsibility for the animal’s overall health.  These unforeseen crises are some of the reasons we have credit cards and a line of credit.

So that’s life with Nuala these days, who’s earned yet Thufiranother nick-name, the Hoblin, as a result of her current injury.

Will likely update you in the New Year with the developing situation.  I won’t lay claim to prescience, but I have a feeling that surgery will be in our collective future.

Do you have a pet with health issues?  How are you managing it?  My best wishes to anyone dealing with anything serious.

Related articles

I woke up today = epic win :)

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

We’re all still here.  No zombies.  No rapture.  The apocalypse, it turns out, it just a calendar reset, very much like the solstice, or New Year’s Eve.

Then I got the G+ notification this morning that in the Julian calendar, it’s actually December 8 and that the end of the Mayan calendar  and Christmas are both days away yet.  Needless to say, my response to that particular bit of sharing cannot be repeated on Writerly Goodness.

Up here in the north, we got our first real snow storm of the year, right on time.  Five to six inches fell yesterday and last night, necessitating a one and a half hour snow-blowing odyssey for myself, and that after a kind neighbour cleared my mom’s side of the driveway.  Heck of a way to spend a day off 😦

Back to the matter at hand.

Maya Calendar

Maya Calendar (Photo credit: Xiaozhuli)

The Mayan calendar restarts at this point.  They may not get to celebrate this particular new beginning every year, but that’s what today represents for them: a new beginning.

Similarly, the solstice is the renewal of the sun in the northern hemisphere.  The shortest day and longest night passes, and from that point in the year, the days become increasingly longer and the nights increasingly shorter until the summer solstice flips the switch.  Here’s astronomer Phil Plait’s informative article on the event.

For those of you with paganish leanings, or the Celtophiles among you, here is a link to this year’s solstice ceremony at Newgrange.

English: Newgrange, Ireland.

English: Newgrange, Ireland. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cultures throughout the world celebrate the solstice in one way or another.  Christmas celebrations (among others) can be traced back to, or related to the pagan solstice celebrations that predated them.

It is not only the beginning of a new season, but the beginning of a new year for some.  If you think about the 12 days of Christmas and start the count on the solstice, the final day of celebrations will be anywhere from January 1 to 3, depending on the year and the day the solstice actually falls on.

That’s why I think that we call it the Christmas season, or used to call it that before the political correctness police descended en masse and advised everyone that we had to say “Happy Holidays” and not “Merry Christmas.”

I get the inclusiveness of the message.  I’m not Christian myself, but I was raised in that tradition and I celebrate Christmas with my family and friends like most people of Anglo-European descent.  My paganish side honours the solstice and the season it starts for me, culminating in the New Year.

Like the Mayan calendar, and the solar/astronomical year, our calendar restarts at this point as well.  January 1st marks a new beginning for most of us, a time of putting up new calendars and taking down Christmas decorations.  The tree (a pagan tradition, by the way) is shipped to the curb for recycling, or repackaged back in its box until next year.

Resolutions are made and adhered to or abandoned as our nature demands.

So what do you think about renewals, the Christmas/holiday season, and what it represents for us?

Coming soon: I’ll be posting on Christmas Day, creating a “best of the year” post, and blogging about planning and resolutions with a writerly focus.

Sunrise over Stonehenge on the summer solstice...

Sunrise over Stonehenge on the summer solstice, 21 June 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For now, I’ll simply wish everyone a happy solstice.

A solstice soundtrack:

Write on, my friends!

 

La Cloche Spirit: The Equivalent Light

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

This afternoon, for a creative date, I treated myself to Jon Butler’s exhibit at the Living with Lakes Centre, La Cloche Spirit: The Equivalent Light.  I did some visiting with the photographer and some of my friends from the Sudbury Writers’ Guild, did some Christmas shopping, and generally had a lovely time.

Jon’s exhibit remains at the Living with Lakes Centre through to Friday, November 30, 2012.  Go consume the visuals.  They are eminently tasty 🙂

The photograph that lent its name to the exhibit is, I think, my favourite.  A thick fog rolls over the mountains, pools between them, as the sun rises through clouds, casting a purple strier effect across the sky.  Against the shadows of further mountains, two wisps of fog chase one another, the lead one almost looking as if it has a head.

If I had enough disposable income to blow, I’d be installing the mounting hardware about now and ‘La Cloche Spirit’ would be hanging in my office in short order.

I first heard of Jon a number of years ago, through my SWG friend Vera Constantineau.  She and Jon worked together on an ekphrastic collaboration for the Manitoulin Writers’ Circle’s Cross-Pollination project.   She’s since teamed up with Jon again, and here are the wonderful results.

The two photographs reminded Vera of her family with the right number to reflect her aunts and uncles.  Her poems, entitled “The Boys” and “The Girls” were inspired by Jon’s photography.  “The Girls” has subsequently been published in The Antigonish Review.

Jon does a little of his own ekphrasis too.  In these two photographs, he’s written haiku on birch bark and inserted them into the frame.

In addition to the framed photographs, art cards are available for purchase, and Ian Tamblyn’s Willisville Mountain CD, also inspired by Jon’s work.

Apparently only a few copies of his coffee table book of photography remain at the Art Gallery of Sudbury, so if you’re in the market for a lovely Christmas gift, hit the AGS before they’re all gone.

It’s well worth your while to visit the exhibit, even if it’s only to gaze longingly at and be inspired by Jon’s beautiful photography.  Of course, you can also visit his web site or find him on Facebook if you want to know more about Jon and his work.

There’s still time if you want an evocative and uniquely northern Christmas gift 🙂