Pages

Picture taken by my friend Cyndi Leos....thank you Cyndi.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Wake Up Call, Times Two....

Early this morning, we were awakened by our dog Izzy barking her ALARM bark, she ran in the house barking in a high pitched bark, running around the house, and back outside in our back patio... my husband, characteristically, worries about her barking disturbing the neighbors and told her to be quiet.

He went out into the front to get the newspaper and saw our neighbor Jerry, two doors down, was standing on our corner, over the body of a small dog.  He yelled to my husband, telling him a coyote had just killed our neighbor's dog. Our neighbor lives kitty corner from us, down the street on the corner.  Their yard sits below street level.  Her little Yorkshire terrier typically jumps up on top of the wall and sticks her head out the wrought iron bars which sit on top of the wall.  Apparently, the dog jumped up and the coyote snagged it, shaking it all the way down the street to our corner and was preparing to eat it, when Jerry, our neighbor scared it off....

My husband came in and woke me up (as I had my earplugs in and CPAP machine on) and told me what happened. We went outside and I could see Chris, the dog's owner, and Jerry... he had covered her little dog Bella with a towel.

I comforted and cried with Chris, while my husband stood over the dog, keeping the wind from blowing back the towel, exposing Bella's body.  Jerry went to get a box to put Bella in, so Chris could carry Bella home. One of our other neighbors, Ally, walked with Chris back to her house...

We have heard of coyote sightings from other neighbors, besides Jerry.  Because of it, I will not walk Izzy alone early in the morning when it is cooler or later after dusk, when it isn't so hot.  I have been asking my husband to walk with us... I think NOW, he will....  When I rarely do, I carry a walking stick.

Yesterday I read in the newspaper someone in our community was running up on our walking trails around 6 am, when his Boxer was bite in the forehead by a 3 foot rattlesnake, which the owner killed.  His vet bill was $1200 and thankfully, his dog will be fine.  The owner was quoted saying he will not be running up on the trails until Winter.  This is the same trail my son in law, daughter and I took when they came to visit in April, for the Easter weekend.

This is a wake up call... we have a six foot wrought iron fence around our backyard, with more narrow bars than our neighbor Chris.  Her bars are 5 or 6 inches wide and ours our 3 inches.  Izzy cannot stick her head through the bars.  The fence has thorny bushes growing on it for privacy. We have a doggy door and Izzy has free rain in our small back yard.  In the past we have left her in the house, but she can use the small doggy door to go in and out to do her business.  Now, we may start locking her inside and using the potty patch beside the back door...

I have written much this past week as I threw my lower back out.  Last Thursday I leaned over to pick up a grocery bag and ZINGO, I felt like a lightning bolt struck my lower back! Could not even sit long enough to post an explanation about my absence...Yesterday, I started taking some muscle relaxers, which make me very sleepy, but it is helping.  It feels so good to sit and type on my laptop without pain and stiffness in my lower back!

I think this is a wake up call for me to get serious about losing weight... my gut is getting so big it is now throwing out my back!

I read some where about extra weight around the middle is like carrying a bowling ball attached to the waist...  With THAT VISUAL, I can see how I keep throwing my back out.  Like it or not, I have to take some positive action to lose weight!

I have found I do better with a schedule.  Part of me HATES schedules as I see myself as spontaneous, but being spontaneous, leads me into procrastination...

When I am completely healed from this lower back business I will be implementing and experimenting with my posting and visiting other blogs schedule.  I have to make exercise a priority in my life. It is clear to me, routine and schedules equal more accomplishment.

I have a lot of time to think this past week.  First and foremost, is dealing with my constant challenge in being unhappy with where we currently live.  I must learn to live with it. I have to.  Depression and loneliness generate laziness, another reason for my weight gain.  I weigh more now than I did with both my pregnancies!  I hate to admit this, but I have put on almost 30 pounds living here these past five and a half years!  I have been literally, eating my loneliness...

I used to remember working and wonder how I got so much accomplished...it is because I was on a schedule.  I hate dieting, so it is all about changing my life style.  I have to get more active, which means getting OUTSIDE the house!  Before my back went out, I sat at my computer a good twelve hours or more!

Recently, when I visited my Mom in California, she confronted me on how my obsession with my computer has made her feel  disconnected from me.  Even when I would came to visit her at her home, I would be on my computer.  I had felt her distance and had pulled away from her too.  I am so glad she brought it to my attention, because it made me realize how out of control I have become...

I feel I have really slacked off visiting your blogs...another indication of how disorganized and dysfunctional I have become...Everything has come to a head having to lie around and do nothing but think... In a way, having my back go out has been a blessing...and a genuine wake up call...

9 comments:

septembermom said...

Very scary about those attacks on pets. I'm sorry to hear about your back pain. I hope that you continue to feel better. We all need wake up calls for various things in our lives. Thanks for reminding me to listen to mine. Take care :)

DJan said...

Please don't add to your distress by thinking that you need to read each and every blog post. I love you and care about you just the way you are. Taking care of yourself is the most important thing you do every day.

The hardest part of dieting for me is getting started. Once I see some progress, it begins to take on a life of its own and the weight comes off. For me, that is. But just know that I am sending you positive energy and my complete belief that you will do what you must.

Oh, and hugs to you! Don't forget to spend some time every day smiling... :-)

Jeanie said...

So sad about the little dog. I know that makes you worry about Izzy. We have coyotes here too and I often take a walking stick when I walk Dodger.
I hope you find the mindset to achieve the balance you are looking for in your life. It sounds like are taking the first steps with your thought process.

Teresa said...

oh man - i had a comment all done, hit the publish button as my internet connection decide to hiccup. trying to think...

so sad for that little dog and for your neighbor. how scary for you all.

i totally understand the rest of your post. i am so there with you. i tend to eat my loneliness and depression too and i've had a lot of it lately. ron is better in a lot of ways but work is awful and things are coming to a head.

chin up though...

betty said...

so sorry about your back, Donna! I was wondering why you were quiet, I was hoping it wasn't anything too much but it was with you to be in so much pain/agony!

We do get wrapped around these blogs/computer. They suck us in and it is hard to get control of it sometimes. I've been real lax about my time in Bible reading/prayer lately, doing it in the morning but spending more and more time on line and less and less time in the Word/prayer so this week I made it a point to spend more time in what really matters in the morning and I can tell the difference in my prayer life as well as what God is showing me in his word. All things in moderation the Bible says, but what do we do with these silly blogs? We spend way too much time on them than we should I think! Good for you for thinking about a schedule and doing some healthy things for your body!

Your poor neighbor's dog! Where we lived in Murrieta, mind you it was the city not out in the country so to speak, we had coyotes in our neighborhood. I wonder if Iggy was barking like she did because she heard the coyotes howling. As you know, coyotes are very smart animals and they work great together in a pack to try to entice prey. We would hear them howling in the middle of the night and Koda would be all crazy barking too but we never let him out unless hubby went with a stick with him in the backyard. Even in the middle of the day I wouldn't leave him out unless I was keeping an eye on him because I would see coyotes walking along our back fence even during daytime hours. And they are good jumpers too.

Same with the rattlesnakes. We didn't have them in our yard but two doors down the lady had one in her yard and she did day care. We had roadrunners in the neighborhood who I guess fight snakes. She said the roadrunner that day was going "crazy" bumping against her window a lot, etc. She didn't realize it until later that the roadrunner was warning her about the snake (sent from God I am sure, they were of Christian faith). The snake was close to a plant where one of the day care kids had gone to retrieve a ball, thankfully something caught her attention that the snake was there, she got the kids inside and called animal control to remove it (they can't kill rattlesnakes).

Do be safe; carry a stick! A few times we did run into a coyote when I was walking Koda; I "swear" one time it looked like the coyote was going to follow us; I had seen it and turned around the other way. I quickly said a prayer to God and a moment later I saw this guy I hadn't seen before walking our way; I always felt good when I would see others out walking just in case I got into some type of trouble. I'm sure God sent him.

Anyway, incredibly long comment.

I think you will come up with the best schedule for you to get yourself in a healthier place for your body!

betty

LindyLouMac said...

It is good to be back at last catching up with your blogging activities but it does not read as though you have been having a great time of things recently. Take Care and stay strong.

Pat said...

I would think your dog would be safe from coyotes in your yard with the 3 inch bars for your fence. As far as snakes...check around and see if there are any safety classes for dogs to identify snakes. I knows these types of classes are offered in AZ. They expose the dogs to rattlers (in cages) so they dogs will react with they come upon the snake in the wild.

Hope your back gets better soon.

gayle said...

Oh Donna I am so sorry about your back! My husband and I have gain so much weight in the last few months. He quit smoking and all we do now is eat eat eat. I'm in the same boat as you are...it's so hard to get started. I feel like I've got so much going on but really nothing. I want to read and write blogs. I want to read books. I need to spend some time ( a lot) working on my house. I could go on and on. The days just go by too fast!
Just take care of you!

Southhamsdarling said...

Hi Donna. Somehow I missed this blog post of yours - that is why I haven't made a comment before. Firstly, I am so sorry to hear about poor little Bella., Your neighbour must have been distraught, and I can understand how you feel vulnerable when you are walking your little Izzy. I am so with you on all that you have said about blogging. I spend far to long on it. The trouble is, when you leave it for a couple of days, then you just have so many to try to catch up on and comment on! I really don't know what the answer is to get it just right. I have started to be a bit more strict and don't comment on so many as I used to . For health reasons alone, it's a good idea to try to lose some weight. I am so sorry to hear of the problems you were having with your back, but I am glad to hear that it is feeling easier now. Please take care. We've missed you my friend!