The Hiatus and Scattered Reports from In Between

One of my least favorite words of all time is "hiatus." It's right up there with "hyena." 

I've taken the longest writing hiatus on Gropius since I started the blog but I'm checking in to report a few scattered happenings since we've talked last. My mind, work, and everything-in-between-and-overlapping have been too tied up in details to put anything reasonable on the old scrolling digital journal. And most of those things I felt that I would regret writing about later.

So here's a tiny sampling on the reportable mini-happenings from the last post:

Why "Hello there, Bono!"  Thank you very much to the gal at work who Photoshopped us together when the latest professional staff photos came in. Some people got a wrinkle or two removed; I got Bono. I'm really happy about the choice. Husband has been a great sport about it, since I obviously printed this and put it up on the fridge.

This is sweet Ingrid with her husband Stig. You may remember from previous posts that we lost her over a year ago to blood cancer. She was an amazing and inspirational soul for nearly everyone who met her--whether it was for an afternoon or a decade. I miss her daily. I've put a team together to walk in her honor on October 16.  The Light the Night Walks take place all over the country to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Many thanks to Pines Lake Redhead & all the others who gave money to support the cause. You rock, and I appreciate you so much. If you'd like to contribute to the cause, you can check out our team and donate here.

Thank goodness for the angels who walk here on Earth. My sweet Flanders is 12, and we woke up one morning to find her stumbling about. Every few steps her legs just seemed to give out. Her eyes were darting back and forth wildly like she was speed reading.  Our normal vet couldn't see her that day.  I was panicked.

A vet practicing an hour from our house (who donates every ounce of time outside of her practice to local animal rescue groups) took my call on her cell and came in on her day off to see Flanders. I am so grateful. Turns out Flanders had "old dog" vestibular disease, making her dizzy. That, along with arthritis, put her in bad shape. She's doing much better now, and I have her under the care of someone who looks at her as a member of my family, not just a furry object who lives in my house.

This is not your brain on drugs. This is my brain (not on drugs). Thoreau was not kidding when he said our lives were frittered away by detail. There are so many things I'm trying to mentally keep track of, I've been a bit scrambled lately. Okay, totally scrambled. Completely and totally freaking scrambled. I'm working on that since life doesn't usually change in it's pace, but the way you handle it can.

To all the regular Gropius visitors, thanks for hanging out with me. I'll be catching up with you this week during my down time in my trip to Charlotte. If you're new, thanks for reading and I hope you'll come back.