Confection post.

It's time for a bit of "ketchup" (get it, catch up? har har har). The past 2 days have been plenty B-Z.

Yesterday I was up early, watered and scooped after the dogs and then it was off to town for errands. Grocery shopping was a high priority, since there was very little food in the house when I took off for my place of employment. I feed really good kibble to the dogs, but it isn't particularly palatable to most humans. Having been awarded a safety award of a $100.00 gift card, I treated myself to a new set of non-stick cookware to replace the stuff I've worn out over the past decade and a half.

Next stop was Cold Spot Feeds, the most dangerous store in Fairbanks if you happen to be a dog musher. I was very good for a change. Only bought a big bag of bulk dog treats, and that only because I was nearly out. Running out of dog treats is NOT a good thing in a mushing kennel.

Then it was off to Vision Optical, where my new special order spectacle frames arrived. They are identical to my old ones, which like my old cookware has been used to the point of totally worn out. Last R&R one of the temples broke completely off the old frame. I ordered transition lenses for the new pair, though. That way they'll be more useful during the spring when the risk of snowblindness is highest.

Next was the dentist office, to get my quarterly "peridontal maintenance", an IC (Insurance Correct) term for "sand blasting". When I returned home Mike Green came by for a visit, and told me all about his vacation trip to New England, where he was born and raised. He then rememberd he had a "little bit" of old frozen fish to give me for the team, so we headed to his place where he gave me enough long-frozen salmon and other fish to top off my freezer. I'm now confident I have enough fish and meat to supplement my dogs through the winter.

Last night Kim Fitzgerald and her traveling buddy, Ron, arrived relatively late. Kim is the ringleader of the Hedlund Husky Preservation Project, and we've corresponded for years, but never met. She owned the father of my two Hedlund Gray Huskies. She declared the "Twins" near perfect specimens of this increasingly rare line. We scanned a bunch of photos which I'll put on the website when I can steal away some time to do so.

This morning I was up well before my house guests, dashing off to Auto Service Company to have the heater blower repaired on my car. I was rather disappointed, as I expected to get the car repaired today. Instead, they had a tech look at it. He agreed with my assessment that the bearings were shot in the blower motor, so it needs to be replaced. Then I was informed the part had to be ordered from Elsewhere, and of course paid in advance. I still can't get the damned thing fixed until the part comes in, so now one morning of my next R&R will be taken up with the same old issue (sigh).

Kim and Ron were still here when I got back from the shop, so we talked about dogs for a while before they headed over to visit Miriam Cooper at the Lead Dog Spock kennel. Miriam's dog Remus is brother to my Rose and Nels. I loaded up Darling Daisy for a visit with our vet. While boarding at the Daisy Acres kennel, Lynn told me that Daisy had been drinking much more than normal (polydypsia) and was also urinating more than normal (polyuria). These two signs can indicate diabetes, kidney problems, Cushing's disease and other serious ailments, so prudence dictated a vet visit.

Daisy's UA is nothing close to normal, but not definitive. It showed that she is not diabetic, which is good, but didn't help us solve the mystery of what is going in there. Dr. Olson drew blood for a wide range of screens. We should get the lab results back either tomorrow or Monday.

I fed the team, and Abner, who has been on a hunger strike the past couple of days, finally ate a full meal with enthusiasm. At least I can stop worrying about him. With his habit of eating things that don't qualify as food (collars, for example) I was worried he might have eaten something that could cause a bowel obstruction. Tonight he's well fed and happy, so I can stop fretting about him.

As the day is winding down, I actually cooked myself a "real" supper as opposed to just nuking up something that may more or less pass as food. Cube steak, steamed corn and cole slaw. Protien, starch and green stuff. Not too bad for an old guy, eh?