This Is My Title

1. The phone I flushed down the toilet has returned...after 3 months. I happened to glance down into the toilet yesterday evening upon entering the bathroom and saw a black rectangular shape sticking out of the bottom about an inch. I immediately thought I had dropped another phone down the toilet. Without an ounce of hesitation, I plunged my hand down into the toilet, grabbed it and pulled it out. I'm lucky that it actually happened to really be my old phone and nothing else. Had I stopped to think for even a moment, I may have realized that putting a glove on my hand or wrapping my hand and arm in a plastic bag would have been more sanitary. I looked at my dripping wet, corroded phone and shed a single tear. Then I opened it, of course, and tried to turn it on. Go figure, it wouldn't work. I brought it out into the living room, still holding it with my bare hands, and held it up to Howard with a look of disbelief on my face. He said, "Jeez, Dana, you dropped another one in there?" When I told him it was my old phone, his face then changed to a look of disbelief and he asked, "And you seriously just stuck your bare hand in there to get it out?? Gross!" It was at this point it hit me I was holding a nasty, dirty phone in my hand that had been sitting in the toilet for over 3 months so I hurriedly tossed it in the trash and proceeded to scrub my arm and hand raw with soap.

2. The bagels are delicious!!!!! And I'm not just saying that. They arrived on Friday and Howard and I both ate one right away. It changed his life. He has never had a fresh bagel before. I have no idea how that could possibly be. He actually thought the store bought ones were good before this. We froze the rest of them and just take one out at night to thaw if we want one the next day. Thanks Mom!

3. I can't believe I'm admitting this but I actually hit traffic this morning. I was taking Jack to the vet in Paducah and I hit traffic on I-24. Gasp! It was backed up about 2 miles due to roadwork. However, here is the difference between VA and KY. When I first saw the sign that read "Right Lane Closed Ahead", I got into the left lane. And so did every single other car on the road. The lane didn't actually close for another 1.5 miles but not one person thought it was okay to speed down the right hand lane and cut in front of all the rest of the cars waiting patiently in the traffic. Not one car. Absolutely amazing.

4. I took Jack to the vet this morning due to an open wound on his tail. Poor little guy can't seem to stop chewing on it and this morning it was just too much for me to handle. The vet says he has a "hot spot". According to Wikipedia:

A Hot Spot, or acute moist dermatitis, is an acutely inflamed and infected area of skin irritation created and made worse by a dog licking and biting at itself. A hot spot can manifest and spread rapidly in a matter of hours as secondary Staphylococcus infection causes the top layers of the skin to break down and as pus becomes trapped in the hair. Hot spots can be treated with corticosteroid medications and oral as well as topical antibiotic application, as well as clipping hair from around the lesion. Underlying inciting causes include flea allergy dermatitis, ear disease or other allergic skin diseases. Dogs with thick undercoat are most subject to getting hot spots.

So the vet shaved a lot of hair off his tail around the sore, gave him some topical ointment and a shot to prevent the itching. He also gave me some antibiotics and some cream to put on him two times a day. Here is my sad little pup and his little rat tail. Howard already thinks Jack looks like a rat but this is just going to give him more unneeded ammunition. Try not to notice the faded, 70's era, paisley carpet in the background...My office could use a little updating.