Back in the bubble

It's been about a month since I last blogged, and guess why that is? It's because I've been BUSY! Yes, busy. Mark that down. It's the first time I've ever said that in the bubble. It's indicative of the difference between my life here, in the Massachusetts bubble, and my life in Boulder. Had I created this blog when I lived there, it might have been called, ironically, "Life Outside the Bubble." (Ironically because people refer to Boulder as a bubble, which it is if you insist upon looking at the place you live in terms of cultural and political indicators. For me, it's less of a bubble because I'm busy doing stuff and seeing people instead of rolling around in my foggy head.)
So we're back. A month in Boulder and now - BOOM - we're back. Well not "boom" really as we spent three days in the car to get us back here, but it sort of feels that way. I was so busy and bustling and now it's still and quiet again. There's so much to tell you about, but you don't have all day because YOU'RE busy. So here are the highlights.
The first week was spent adjusting to our new environs and making sure that SSMG was up and running for work. Unpacking our stuff and finding places for everything, figuring out where the dogs were going to pee and poop conveniently and testing the waters with Ray to make sure he was comfortable with these new little things that were in his house. In between all of this, we were very busy hiking, running, bike riding and seeing friends.
Week 2 we got into a rhythm and did lots more of the above - hiking, running, bike riding and seeing friends.
From that point on, I'm not sure what we did, but I know one thing. I got very busy cleaning. Week three I spent a great deal of time cleaning my recently vacated apartment for showing. (It didn't sell yet, by the way.)
Week four was filled with trips back and forth cleaning (more) my apartment and Ray's house which I obsessively wanted to leave spotless.
My hands are raw, and now I'm home cleaning our house which got a little ant-infested while we were gone.
In between cleaning we did some really fun stuff: Hiking at Eldorado Canyon, running on the Marshall Mesa trail, motorcycle rides on Peak to Peak highway, 4th of July fireworks at the Rockies game, dinners with various friends and great food.
But no bubble post would be complete without a pet update. Sigh. It was a bittersweet month for pets. I spent an inordinate amount of time in the vet's office and emergency hospitals with the various animals I care for, and I have to say, it was not at all what I had planned for this trip.
First, a tribute to Romeo, Superwoman's cat. My heart breaks to have to write about this, but poor Romeo had heart failure, and two days before Superwoman's Big Adventure (http://www.antoinettewalkabout.blogspot.com/) we had to say goodbye to him. Poor, sweet, rambunctious Romeo. He will be missed terribly. And our sympathies go out to his mom, Superwoman. That unfortunate event marks trip number 1 to the AlpenGlow emergency pet clinic.
Indian Peaks Veterinary Clinic saw a lot of me and got to know Muffin and Sam pretty well. English's veterinarian, Indian Peaks, is right near Ray's house, so when Muffin seemed to be coughing more than usual, I took her there for an exam, and we left with antibiotics and an antihistamine which seemed to help for awhile. Remember, Muffin had pneumonia in May and it was touch and go for awhile.
Shortly thereafter Sam's yuckiness on his nose got really bad and I brought him to Indian Peaks. He went home with antibiotics and an antihistamine.
Then, last weekend, Muffin's coughing got bad again, and we took her back to Indian Peaks, coincidentally the same day that English's parents decided to get her leg looked at.
A sick Muffin was diagnosed with a recurrence of the pneumonia, and a semi-sedated and unhappy English was being poked and prodded. After we were discharged with Muffin and referred to AlpenGlow emergency pet clinic I took English out for a little walk and burst into tears at the sight of her in pain and so unhappy.
Friday evening, exactly one week after saying goodbye to Romeo, I found myself with SSMG and Muffin in the exact same room at AlpenGlow thinking, "It's Friday happy hour time and I've spent the past two in this godforsaken room!" I burst into tears again as we admitted poor Muffin into the hospital and left her there.
God, there's nothing worse than seeing Muffin go into the hospital.
Our story ends like this: Muffin was released in time for us to pick her up and head out for home. She did well with the help of her sedatives and is now, it seems, back to normal. Sam's nose looks good. English had her Cruciate Ligament surgery and is home recovering, and Romeo, I imagine, is chasing rabbits and mice in kitty heaven.
Ray hung in there, thank god. One little incident where he seemed to briefly lose the use of his hind legs, but this time I waited and he got right back up and back to normal. No hysterical trips with him to the emergency clinic to diagnose him with gas.
Oh, and lest I forget the bird! I had a bird come to nest on the top of my door at my apartment. I would have left it alone remembering the unfortunate event 6 or 7 years ago when I knocked down a nest only to, gulp, break open a few little eggs and painfully watch mom hover nearby, but the nest was made of mud and there were no eggs in it and it was making a mess of my front door and inviting birds to crap all over the place while I'm trying to sell the goddamn place, so I cleaned it up and put up bird deterrents in the form of an owl and wiring. Nothing is dead on account of this.
So that marks the end of our month in Boulder, and now it's time to get to work to get us back there. The animals need us.