A Couple of Interesting Experiences

   This has been an interesting week.  Tuesday was my annual appointment with the cardiologist at Bassett in Cooperstown.  He listened to my heart, smiled and said 'very good'.  Then he thought about it for a few minutes and decided to order an EKG to make sure he heard the St Jude Mechanical heart valve and my heart correctly.  He did.  He also told me that there is some research being done to replace Warfarin as a blood thinner but it will be a few years yet before it's on the market.  Swell.  I guess I don't have much choice, do I?  My next appointment is next June BUT it will be in Herkimer!
  My knees and right ankle are still bothering me, keeping me awake at night and making it a little difficult to walk so I dug my Mom's 1st cane, a wooden one, out of the closet and started using it around the house and from the car to a shopping cart.  I feel rather foolish but it helps...I can walk faster and I'm not afraid of falling!  It really came in handy today when we had some excitement with Zoey.  Jeff likes to take her with him when he gets the mail and she loves riding in the wagon behind the Cub Cadet.  Today when they came back and parked the machine in the yard, he started playing training games with her, stressing 'stay in the yard'.  Now Fanny learned this command rather quickly but Zoey's nose gets in her way and she tends to roam. I heard him yell the command several times and then I noticed him running to the Cub Cadet.  Zoey had found a trail to track!  By the time Fanny and I got outside, Zoey was out of sight, Jeff and the Cub Cadet were stuck in the tall grass.  I tried calling her but no response.  Fanny went into the old horse pasture between our house and Wally's garage and since I had grabbed my cane, I was able to walk down to the road and up to the cemetery.  No sign or sound of Zoey.  By the time I got back to the house Jeff and Fanny were ready to get into the car so I joined them and we did a quick run thru the 1st cemetery, then onto the highway and into the 1st parking lot that runs back to our little woods.  Still no Zoey.  We went back onto the highway and down to the dead end street that runs back to the old trolley right-of-way that use to run from Arthur St in E. Herkimer past our house.  No sign of Zoey.  When we got back home Jeff started back thru the high weeds with the Cub Cadet but I just stood in the backyard and called Zoey a couple of times and there she was!  I think she must have been around the house...in the high weeds or in the horse pasture...the entire time.  After we left in the car, she might have come home, went into the house...the doors were open...and discovered we all were gone!  I think she looked a little scared and happy at the same time!  She was thirsty and tired, that's for sure!  The scariest part was that she had 10 ft of leash trailing along from her collar. I was afraid she'd get tangled in something and be stuck for who-knows how long.  Jeff was so upset/mad that he couldn't talk to her or pet her.  All he could say was 'I told you to stay in the yard' over and over.  I think Fanny

might have been trying to tell us Zoey was in the horse pasture, too, coz she went into it 2 or 3 times.  She also found something foul to roll in 

requiring a wipe down with baby wipes...something Fanny doesn't exactly cares for. (Her other side was even worse looking...and smelling!)

   This week I also finally managed to get a sweater order finished and in the mail.  It was for a hoodie with a train going around the body just above the ribbing.  The sweater, a size 2,  was the easy part,

getting a separating 14"zipper in a color that wouldn't clash was the difficult part!  Our local Walmart doesn't even carry separating zippers and the online sewing distributor I ordered one 

from had a lousy choice of colors.  I got a beige zipper but it didn't work well with the green sweater.  Ended up taking a ride to JoAnn Fabrics last weekend and while I was able to get a 14" zipper, it had to be black.  (The shortest green one was 18".)  After our stop at JoAnn's...in New Hartford Shopping Center...we went took the arterial to Riverside Mall...in North Utica...so Jeff could go to ProBass Shop.  He got a bunch of fishing lures, etc. and a free hat that was too small for him but fits me fine!  I hate driving on that road!!

   While at Riverside we went to Five Guys for lunch.  Their burgers are good and we're able to get 1 order of french fries and split it.  We haven't been to Five Guys in awhile and I don't think we'll be going back again anytime soon.  While the food was good, it cost $25...for 2 burgers, 1 FF and 2 drinks!  The night before we had gone to Fat Cats in Herkimer for fish fries and it didn't cost us that much for 2 dinners!